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Turkish Press Review, 06-06-21
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
21.06.2006
LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT BACKS
TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP
ERDOGAN CALLS ON THE EU TO KEEP
ITS PROMISES
GUL: “FINALLY GREECE IS GETTING
INVOLVED IN THE CYPRUS ISSUE”
NSC TO CONVENE TOMORROW
ERDOGAN MEETS WITH COUNCIL OF
STATE HEAD CORTOGLU
GREEK CYPRIOTS BLOCK TURKISH
PRESENCE IN EUROPOL
REHN: “THE EU SHOULD END THE
ISOLATION OF THE TRNC”
TALAT TO MEET WITH PAPADOPOULOS
EDELMAN: “TURKEY’S 3 GREATS ARE
ATATURK, INONU, AND OZAL”
BAYKAL: “A NEW BEGINNING IS
REQUIRED”
AGAR MEETS WITH TURKISH
PARLIAMENTARIANS UNION
TUSIAD LEADERS MEET WITH
ERDOGAN
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
CYPRUS FROM THE BEGINNING
BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT BACKS TURKEY’S
EU MEMBERSHIP
[02] ERDOGAN CALLS ON THE EU TO KEEP ITS
PROMISES
[03] GUL: “FINALLY GREECE IS GETTING
INVOLVED IN THE CYPRUS ISSUE”
[04] NSC TO CONVENE TOMORROW
[05] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH COUNCIL OF STATE
HEAD CORTOGLU
[06] GREEK CYPRIOTS BLOCK TURKISH
PRESENCE IN EUROPOL
[07] REHN: “THE EU SHOULD END THE
ISOLATION OF THE TRNC”
[08] TALAT TO MEET WITH PAPADOPOULOS
[09] EDELMAN: “TURKEY’S 3 GREATS ARE
ATATURK, INONU, AND OZAL”
[10] BAYKAL: “A NEW BEGINNING IS
REQUIRED”
[11] AGAR MEETS WITH TURKISH
PARLIAMENTARIANS UNION
[12] TUSIAD LEADERS MEET WITH ERDOGAN
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[14] CYPRUS FROM THE BEGINNING
BY
SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
[01] LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT BACKS TURKEY’S
EU MEMBERSHIP
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
yesterday met with visiting Lithuanian President
Adamkus. At a press conference after their
meeting, Adamkus said that they lent fully
support to Turkey’s European Union membership,
while Sezer stated that they had agreed to boost
bilateral relations. Lithuania joined the EU in
2004. /Turkiye/
[02] ERDOGAN CALLS ON THE EU TO KEEP ITS
PROMISES
Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has decided to pay
a visit to the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC) in a period of increased tension
over the island. Erdogan will participate in
ceremonies on July 20 held to mark the
anniversary of the 1974 Peace Operation.
Speaking at his party’s group meeting yesterday,
Erdogan spoke at length on the Cyprus issue and
called on the European Union to keep its
promises to Turkey. “If the promises made to
Turkey aren’t kept, namely ending the isolation
of the Turkish Cypriots, then Ankara won’t allow
Greek Cypriot ships or planes to use its ports
and airports,” said Erdogan, adding that Turkey
was disappointed by how the Cyprus issue was
brought to the table during EU negotiations on
science and research, which have nothing to do
with it. /Star/
[03] GUL: “FINALLY GREECE IS GETTING
INVOLVED IN THE CYPRUS ISSUE”
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul,
in Baku, Azerbaijan to attend the Organization
of the Islamic Conference (OIC) 33rd Foreign
Ministers’ meeting, said yesterday that he
welcomed the remarks made by his Greek
counterpart Dora Bakoyannis that Greece was
preparing a plan for a Cyprus settlement as a
sign of Athens’ involvement in the issue,
breaking a long-held Greek policy of keeping its
distance from the decades-old dispute. Speaking
to reporters, Gul said that for a long time
Ankara had tried to convince Greece to take part
in the efforts to resolve the problem, as it was
a guarantor state. Gul added that the OIC
meeting was an important opportunity to clarify
the Turkish sides’ views on the deep-seated
Cyprus issue to Islamic countries.
/Star-Turkiye/
[04] NSC TO CONVENE TOMORROW
The National Security Council
(NSC) chaired by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
will convene tomorrow. The NSC’s regular
bimonthly meeting will start at 1:30 p.m. Recent
domestic and foreign developments will be
discussed at the meeting. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH COUNCIL OF STATE
HEAD CORTOGLU
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan yesterday received Sumru Cortoglu, head
of the Court of State. The closed-door meeting
lasted for 15 minutes and according to the prime
ministry sources, it was a courtesy visit
wherein Cortoglu reportedly repeated her request
for an “intelligent” court house with advanced
security measures. The council suffered a deadly
attack last month by an armed lawyer.
/Cumhuriyet/
[06] GREEK CYPRIOTS BLOCK TURKISH
PRESENCE IN EUROPOL
The Greek Cypriot
administration has taken action to block
Turkey’s relations with the European Police
Office (Europol). Greek Cypriots informed the EU
through a diplomatic note that it wouldn’t give
information to Turkey, which signed an overall
cooperation agreement with the police
organization, and that it wouldn’t accept
Ankara’s exchange of information with Europol.
According to diplomatic sources, Greek Cyprus
told the EU and Europol that it wouldn’t pass on
information to Turkey related to itself. Within
this context, Greek Cyprus vetoed Turkey’s
Europol membership. Greek Cyprus also asked that
non-EU member countries be ineligible for this
kind of information and cooperative work with
Europol. /Cumhuriyet/
[07] REHN: “THE EU SHOULD END THE
ISOLATION OF THE TRNC”
The European Parliament’s
Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday began to
debate the Turkey progress report prepared by
Dutch Christian Democrat Parliamentarian Camiel
Eurlings. Addressing the committee, EU
Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn said that
beginning of the official talks between Turkey
and the EU last week in Luxembourg signaled that
the process was on track. However, the EU’s
expectations of Turkey have increased, said
Rehn. Praising Ankara’s efforts to fulfill
harmonization reforms, Rehn expressed his
concern over increased terrorist PKK attacks.
Concerning the Cyprus issue, the commissioner
stressed that all sides should work hard for a
settlement on the island, adding that the EU
should act decisively to end the isolation of
the Turkish side and begin direct trade with the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
/Turkiye/
[08] TALAT TO MEET WITH PAPADOPOULOS
Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat is set
to meet with Greek Cypriot leader Tassos
Papadopoulos on July 3 in the buffer zone on the
island to mark the appointment of a
representative of the United Nations’ Cyprus
Committee. Greek daily Politis stated that the
UN was trying to arrange a second meeting of the
leaders on July 8 during a visit of the UN
representative, Ibrahim Gambari, to the island.
In related news, Talat last week sent a letter
to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan reiterating
the Turkish Cypriots’ desire for technical
committees to be established soon, and asking
for his own efforts on the matter. /Milliyet/
[09] EDELMAN: “TURKEY’S 3 GREATS ARE
ATATURK, INONU, AND OZAL”
Speaking at a Washington, DC conference on late
Turkish President Turgut Ozal, US Defense
Undersecretary Eric Edelman said that the “three
great leaders of Turkey” were Ataturk, Ismet
Inonu, and Turgut Ozal. Speaking about Ataturk,
Edelman, a former US ambassador to Ankara, said
“Ataturk was an incredible leader who carried
out innovative reforms. Speaking in the language
we use today, Ataturk knew what strategic
communication was. He saw the future in the
West, and prepared his country for this.”
Talking about Inonu, Edelman said: “Ismet Inonu
unified Turkey with the West, and brought a
multiparty maturity to the country.” On Ozal,
Edelman said: “Turgut Ozal was a visionary, a
democrat, a realist, an inventor,
well-understood by all, and a true friend of the
US.” And on current Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan: “Prime Minister Erdogan has been at the
forefront of political reforms over the past two
years. He has acted very bravely on the Cyprus
question.” /Hurriyet/
[10] BAYKAL: “A NEW BEGINNING IS
REQUIRED”
Turkey needs a new beginning,
said main opposition Republican People’s Party
(CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday. “Everyone
who is uncomfortable with developments in Turkey
should evaluate the situation and form new
attitudes,” said Baykal in his group meeting.
/Sabah/
[11] AGAR MEETS WITH TURKISH
PARLIAMENTARIANS UNION
True Path Party leader Mehmet
Agar yesterday met with the Turkish
Parliamentarians Union. Speaking to reporters,
Agar said that the Turkish nation is already
able to maintain its republic and democracy
without the need for any advice. /Star/
[12] TUSIAD LEADERS MEET WITH ERDOGAN
Turkish Industrialists’ and
Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD)
Administrative head Omer Sabanci and Advisory
Board head Mustafa Koc met yesterday with Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It was a “warm
meeting,” said Koc at a press conference
afterwards. Sabanci said that they had talked
about their visit to European Union country
capitals and economic issues. “The government is
successfully carrying out the EU membership
process and was able to start membership talks,”
said Sabanci. /Aksam/
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[14] CYPRUS FROM THE BEGINNING
BY
SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Sami Kohen comments
on the Cyprus issue. A summary of his column is
as follows:
“At
first Ankara gave a negative ‘informal’ response
to the news from Athens that Greek Foreign
Minister Dora Bakoyiannis was preparing a new
Cyprus plan. Actually, Bakoyiannis’ remarks to
Greek daily Eleftherotypia were far from
explaining the full context of the proposal for
a solution. She only mentioned the outlines of
this plan. Ankara’s first response was actually
made in a hurry. According to initial
evaluations, the plan was unacceptable. However,
yesterday Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul made
another interpretation and emphasized an
important side of Bakoyiannis’ initiative. For
him, this initiative shows that Greece is
officially involved in the process. The action
plan presented by Turkey early this year
suggested a four-sided meeting. Athens wasn’t in
favor of being included in such a process until
now. But now it’s preparing a proposal for a
solution. Bakoyiannis’ remarks about his plan
consist of both negative and positive sides. She
summarizes the plan as follows: As part of UN
resolutions and the data from work carried out
on the secretary-general level, a plan based on
the reality of the European Union, which (Greek)
Cyprus has been a member of for two-and-a-half
years, and the demands of two nations…
One
part of this sentence refers to the UN framework
and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s efforts,
an issue on which Ankara has been insistent. The
other part of the sentence says the reality of
the EU and the search for a solution and the EU
are related to each other, which is opposed to
Ankara’s views. The first unofficial response
from Ankara emphasized this negative aspect. In
addition, Dora’s describing this plan as the
‘European United Cyprus Plan’ was interpreted in
Ankara that Greek diplomacy wanted to move the
Cyprus issue to the EU. Actually, is this what
Athens intends? We should wait for the details
of this proposal or plan. Turkey and the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) have been
claiming that efforts to find a solution to the
Cyprus issue should continue under the UN and
that they shouldn’t be related to the EU.
Everybody agrees that the UN is the right place
for this issue. The EU, of which the Greek
Cypriot administration is a member, has no
position to produce a fair and impartial
solution. Actually, it can’t be said that a
result could be reached with the UN either. Even
if Annan calls on them to make negotiations, the
UN can’t step in and show its importance. Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan mentioned this
truth yesterday. He said that the UN Security
Council was reluctant to discuss the Cyprus
report prepared by Annan two years ago. The
disappointment coming from this situation is
felt more acutely in the TRNC. Likewise, TRNC
President Mehmet Ali Talat told reporters that a
solution other than Annan’s plan could be
sought. Addressing the Greek Cypriot
administration, Talat said that we can restart
the negotiations. This is the point for which we
need a solution.”
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