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Turkish Press Review, 06-06-23
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
23.06.2006
GUL TO TRAVEL TO TEHRAN THIS
WEEKEND
NSC: “EU ACCESSION WILL
CONTINUE IN LINE WITH THE NATION’S INTERESTS”
FIRST LADY SEZER: “THE BIGGEST
HURDLES BEFORE TURKISH WOMEN ARE EDUCATION AND
HEALTH”
EU TO OPEN OFFICE IN TRNC
US THINK-TANK: “THE US SHOULD
TAKE STEPS TO REBUILD TIES WITH TURKEY”
BAKOYANNIS EXTENDS FRIENDSHIP
MESSAGES TO TURKEY
UNAKITAN, BABACAN ANNOUNCE
9-ARTICLE PACKAGE TO DEAL WITH ECONOMIC
FLUCTUATIONS
CB HEAD: “WE CAN INTERVENE IN
FOREX IF THE MARKETS FACE A LIQUIDITY SHORTAGE”
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE MILITARY
BY CUNEYT ARCAYUREK (CUMHURIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] GUL TO TRAVEL TO TEHRAN THIS
WEEKEND
[02] NSC: “EU ACCESSION WILL CONTINUE IN
LINE WITH THE NATION’S INTERESTS”
[03] FIRST LADY SEZER: “THE BIGGEST
HURDLES BEFORE TURKISH WOMEN ARE EDUCATION AND
HEALTH”
[04] EU TO OPEN OFFICE IN TRNC
[05] US THINK-TANK: “THE US SHOULD TAKE
STEPS TO REBUILD TIES WITH TURKEY”
[06] BAKOYANNIS EXTENDS FRIENDSHIP
MESSAGES TO TURKEY
[07] UNAKITAN, BABACAN ANNOUNCE
9-ARTICLE PACKAGE TO DEAL WITH ECONOMIC
FLUCTUATIONS
[08] CB HEAD: “WE CAN INTERVENE IN FOREX
IF THE MARKETS FACE A LIQUIDITY SHORTAGE”
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[10] CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE MILITARY
BY CUNEYT ARCAYUREK (CUMHURIYET)
[01] GUL TO TRAVEL TO TEHRAN THIS
WEEKEND
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is due to travel
to Iran this weekend to pay an official visit. A
top official from the Foreign Ministry said that
Gul would be in Tehran tomorrow or on Sunday,
adding that Gul would be received by Mahmoud
Ahmadinajad or Iran’s supreme religious leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to discuss a number of
issues, including Iran’s nuclear program. Gul
will make telephone calls to his German,
Russian, and US counterparts before his trip.
During his visit, Gul is expected to say that
all countries are expecting a constructive
stance from Iran concerning its nuclear program.
/Aksam/
[02] NSC: “EU ACCESSION WILL CONTINUE IN
LINE WITH THE NATION’S INTERESTS”
The National Security Council
(NSC) said yesterday that Turkey’s European
Union accession process would continue with
determination in line with the nation’s
interests. A statement released after the NSC
meeting said, “Developments that followed the
opening [this month] of EU accession
negotiations were reviewed, and the
determination for the continuation of the EU
accession process in line with our national
interests was confirmed.” Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, Chief of General Staff Gen.
Hilmi Ozkok, commanding officers of the army and
NSC member ministers attended the meeting
chaired by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. During
the four-hour gathering, issues such as the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict, terrorism and the
single European Sky, a project for a border-free
upper European airspace, were discussed. /All
papers/
[03] FIRST LADY SEZER: “THE BIGGEST
HURDLES BEFORE TURKISH WOMEN ARE EDUCATION AND
HEALTH”
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer’s wife Semra Sezer
yesterday said that the biggest obstacles to the
development of women in Turkey were education
and health. Speaking at the First Women’s
Studies Conference held in Izmir, Sezer said,
“With the Support Campaign for National
Education which we started in 2001, we worked to
support widespread and lifelong education for
young Turkish girls and women. We are hoping to
reach 100% girl’s attendance at school by 2010.”
/Star/
[04] EU TO OPEN OFFICE IN TRNC
The European Union Commission
has almost completed preparations to open an
office in the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC). The office, scheduled to be
opened in July, will be responsible for the
coordination of EU financial aid to the TRNC and
relations with Turkish Cypriots. Decisions on
the financial aid will be made in Brussels, and
the first part of a 139 million euro aid package
is set to be extended in July. The EU office
will decide which projects would benefit from
the aid, which is to be used by December 2008.
/Milliyet/
[05] US THINK-TANK: “THE US SHOULD TAKE
STEPS TO REBUILD TIES WITH TURKEY”
US think-tank the Council on
Foreign Relations (CFR) presented a report to
the White House this week saying that
comprehensive cooperation with Turkey should be
developed. Stressing that Turkish-American
relations have been damaged by the Iraq war, the
report includes a series of proposals to
revivify ties. The Turkish-American relations
report, prepared by analysts Steven A. Cook and
Elizabeth D. Sherwood-Randall, calls for the
establishment of a regular tripartite dialogue
mechanism on northern Iraq as well as the
appointment of a new US Cyprus special
coordinator, and also says European leaders
should urge Greek Cypriots to take a more
constructive stance. Calling the bilateral ties
“vital,” the report also points to the
importance of efforts to end the international
isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC), and continuation of strong
support for Ankara’s European Union membership
bid. /Turkiye/
[06] BAKOYANNIS EXTENDS FRIENDSHIP
MESSAGES TO TURKEY
In an
interview with French daily Le Figaro this week,
Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said that
she places great importance on improving
relations with Turkey. If Turkey becomes
European, many problems can be ended, said
Bakoyannis, adding that the uneasiness of
Europeans about Turkey was groundless. Stressing
that Turkey’s joining the European Union after
meeting the necessary requirements was very
important, the Greek foreign minister said that
in the beginning the EU Commission had also been
wary of Greece’s integration. But there were no
problems, she said, adding that this would
happen for Ankara too, and that when Turkey
joins the club, Europeans will understand that
there is nothing to worry about. Pointing to a
number of deep-rooted issues between the two
neighboring countries, Bakoyannis said that
French-German rapprochement after World War II
could be a model for Turkey and Greece too,
adding that by improving ties, they could ensure
peace and stability in the region. She also
remarked that Turkey joining the EU would serve
Greece’s interests. /Turkiye/
[07] UNAKITAN, BABACAN ANNOUNCE
9-ARTICLE PACKAGE TO DEAL WITH ECONOMIC
FLUCTUATIONS
Speaking at a joint press conference with State
Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan, Finance
Minister Kemal Unakitan yesterday briefed
reporters about a nine-article package to deal
with recent fluctuations in the markets.
Unakitan said that they had decided to reduce to
zero the withholding rate applied to investment
earnings of people residing abroad, adding that
the withholding rate for people residing in
Turkey would be cut from 15% to 10%. The 15%
rate for purchases of stocks will be lowered to
10%, he said, adding that the approval of the
Cabinet was needed for this. Unakitan stated
that there were many positive economic
developments in the economy, adding that Turkey
didn’t have the luxury to lose these. “We’ll
take a wide range of measures to maintain these
positive developments,” he said. He added that
the government would continue to support the
Central Bank achieving this year’s 5% inflation
target. “We’ve taken steps to facilitate foreign
capital inflow,” said Unakitan. /Milliyet/
[08] CB HEAD: “WE CAN INTERVENE IN FOREX
IF THE MARKETS FACE A LIQUIDITY SHORTAGE”
Speaking to reporters yesterday
before a conference in London entitled “Monetary
Policies and Investment Opportunities in
Turkey,” Central Bank Governor Durmus Yilmaz
said that the CB could intervene in foreign
exchange if the markets face a liquidity
shortage. “There could be a liquidity shortage
in the markets,” he said. Asked how the
intervention would be done, Yilmaz said, “There
are methods acceptable to the markets,” he said.
Yilmaz stated that the priorities of the CB were
price stability and smooth operation of the
financial markets, adding that the bank could do
anything for stability. Yilmaz added that he
would proceed to New York to meet with leading
investors. In related news, International
Monetary Fund spokesman Masood Ahmed said that
the IMF believed that Ankara would take
necessary steps to achieve the 5% inflation
target for this year. /Sabah/
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[10] CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE MILITARY
BY CUNEYT ARCAYUREK (CUMHURIYET)
Columnist Cuneyt Arcayurek comments on the
military in Turkey. A summary of his column is
as follows:
“The
truth is becoming clearer with certain
incidents. The Justice and Development Party
(AKP) government is pursuing a stealth policy to
reduce the military’s influence coming from the
nation’s trust. Certain methods show us this
truth. The slogan which is often mentioned these
days is democratization. Those trying to reduce
the military’s effectiveness base their reasons
on modern democracy, as if the military is
opposing democracy. The AKP policy is to appear
respectful of the military, but making it
out-of-order on international issues. The
foreign support favoring this policy is the
European Union. The EU says at various
occasions, for example, in its progress reports,
that the country’s government should be rescued
from the army’s influence. It recently expressed
its stance against the military with harsher
remarks and said that the military’s actions
should be restricted. The media wasn’t
interested in the US’ latest insistences about
the military and the parties didn’t criticize
this, either. However, the EU says that if the
military has to make statement, they should be
about military issues only. The EU also says
that the army should make such statements only
after getting permission from the government,
even if the issue is about itself, for example,
a technical issue.
Nobody from the government replied to these
initiatives which aim to put the Turkish Armed
Forces (TSK) into an ordinary position in such a
country like Turkey, where adverse consequences
for the regime are being discussed. Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, who sometimes make so-called
shows of bluster against the EU on certain
issues, have issued no written or oral statement
on this, because Erdogan fully agrees with the
EU’s impositions. He’s also happy that the EU
supports his views. The Semdinli incident was
used against the military. Judges and public
prosecutors give the impression that they’re not
responsible for the duty of the judiciary, but
they’re carrying out a political duty. According
to General Staff sources, the top brass finds it
illegal for two non-commissioned officers to be
sentenced to prison for 39 years, criticizing
this as a policy of attrition against the
military in the runup to this August’s
appointments. Inside and outside forces agree
with each other concerning the military issue.
EU officials applauded this decision greatly.
Some people, like Turkey-EU Joint Commission
Co-Chairman Lagendijk, found the decision
lacking and said that the TSK, which they claim
to have an impact on the issue, should face
trial. Politicians have kept silent about the
conspiracy against the military. Nationalist
Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli, the
only one to speak on this issue, said, ‘The EU
can go too far by wanting the TSK to face trial.
The terrorist PKK and separatists, the EU and
AKP have joined forces on this issue as well.’
So, forces inside and outside Turkey are aiming
to cut the military’s vocal chords.”
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