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Turkish Press Review, 06-07-27
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
27.07.2006
SEZER MEETS WITH HUNGARIAN
FM
ARINC: “THE ATTACK ON THE
COUNCIL OF STATE WAS AN ATTACK ON THE
COUNTRY ITSELF”
GUL: “A PEACEKEEPING FORCE
IN LEBANON WOULD BE USEFUL”
BAYKAL: “IT WOULD BE
DANGEROUS FOR TURKEY TO TAKE A MILITARY ROLE
IN RESTRUCTURING THE MIDEAST”
OZKOK MEETS WITH GREEK
CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF
BABACAN COMMENTS ON RECENT
MARKET FLUCTUATIONS, INFLATION, AND TURKEY’S
EU BID
US PLEDGES TO ACT
"AGGRESSIVELY" AGAINST THE PKK
CHP’S TOPUZ: “THE PKK IS
BEING USED AGAINST TURKEY”
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…
A NEW MIDEAST
BY SOLI OZEL (SABAH)
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER MEETS WITH HUNGARIAN FM
[02] ARINC: “THE ATTACK ON THE
COUNCIL OF STATE WAS AN ATTACK ON THE
COUNTRY ITSELF”
[03] GUL: “A PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN
LEBANON WOULD BE USEFUL”
[04] BAYKAL: “IT WOULD BE DANGEROUS
FOR TURKEY TO TAKE A MILITARY ROLE IN
RESTRUCTURING THE MIDEAST”
[05] OZKOK MEETS WITH GREEK CHIEF OF
GENERAL STAFF
[06] BABACAN COMMENTS ON RECENT
MARKET FLUCTUATIONS, INFLATION, AND TURKEY’S
EU BID
[07] US PLEDGES TO ACT
"AGGRESSIVELY" AGAINST THE PKK
[08] CHP’S TOPUZ: “THE PKK IS BEING
USED AGAINST TURKEY”
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…
[10] A NEW MIDEAST
BY SOLI OZEL (SABAH)
[01] SEZER MEETS WITH HUNGARIAN FM
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer,
currently in Hungary for an official visit,
had talks yesterday with Hungarian Foreign
Minister Kinga Goncz in Budapest. Turkish
Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ali Tuygan
and Turkish Ambassador in Budapest Umur
Apaydin were also present during the
meeting. Sezer also visited the Ottoman-era
Gulbaba Tomb, which was built in 1553 and
restored in 1997. /Sabah-Turkish Daily News/
[02] ARINC: “THE ATTACK ON THE
COUNCIL OF STATE WAS AN ATTACK ON THE
COUNTRY ITSELF”
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said
yesterday that May’s deadly attack on the
Council of State in May was an attack on the
country itself. According to reports, Arinc,
during his one-hour meeting with Council of
State Chief Justice Sumru Cortoglu, said it
was their duty to support the court and that
this support would continue in the future.
One judge died and several were injured in
the attack by an armed lawyer. /Turkish
Daily News/
[03] GUL: “A PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN
LEBANON WOULD BE USEFUL”
At yesterday’s international
conference in Rome on the Middle East
crisis, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said
that a peacekeeping force in Lebanon would
be useful. Commenting on possible Turkish
participation in an international force, Gul
said, “A UN resolution and conditions will
emerge on this issue. We are considering the
issue in the best possible way. We had talks
on the issue with our chief of General Staff
before coming here.” US Secretary of State
Condolezza Rice and other top diplomats
attending the meeting thanked Gul for
Turkey’s efforts to evacuate foreign
civilians from Lebanon. /Hurriyet/
[04] BAYKAL: “IT WOULD BE DANGEROUS
FOR TURKEY TO TAKE A MILITARY ROLE IN
RESTRUCTURING THE MIDEAST”
Main opposition Republican
People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal
yesterday met with Felicity Party (SP)
leader Recai Kutan to discuss a number of
issues, including Israel’s bombings of
Lebanon. During their meeting, Baykal said
that it would dangerous for Turkey to
undertake a military role in restructuring
the Middle East. Speaking afterwards, Baykal
said that he had shared similar concerns
with Kutan on Israel’s recent bombings,
adding that Turkey needed another
understanding of the new picture of the
Mideast. Baykal stressed that the
developments should be discussed in
Parliament. Asked about debates over Turkey
sending a peacekeeping force to Lebanon,
Baykal said that this was a matter of
concern. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] OZKOK MEETS WITH GREEK CHIEF OF
GENERAL STAFF
Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok
yesterday met with his visiting counterpart
Adm. Penagiotis Hinofotis, currently in
Ankara for an official visit. Ozkok and
Hinofotis discussed a number of issues,
including an atmosphere of bilateral
confidence and understanding. Hinofotis, the
first Greek chief of staff to visit Turkey
in three decades, is expected to return to
his country tomorrow. /Turkiye/
[06] BABACAN COMMENTS ON RECENT
MARKET FLUCTUATIONS, INFLATION, AND TURKEY’S
EU BID
State Minister for the Economy
Ali Babacan yesterday commented on recent
developments in the Turkish markets, saying
that the banking sector was very sound
despite market fluctuations. He stressed
that external developments had caused these
fluctuations. Babacan stated that the
government was determined to bring down
inflation, adding that the inflation target
for this year wouldn’t be changed. “The
nation appreciates the reduction in
inflation,” said Babacan. “Our most
important political gain is the fight
against inflation. The areas in which the
government has been very successful are
economic stability and reducing inflation,
as seen in public polls.” Commenting on
Turkey’s European Union membership bid,
Babacan said that Turkey’s EU negotiation
process wouldn’t stop due to the Cyprus
issue. “If the EU negotiation process
stumbles, then the Union can’t explain this
to the world,” added Babacan, who is also
Turkey’s chief EU talks negotiator.
/Milliyet/
[07] US PLEDGES TO ACT
"AGGRESSIVELY" AGAINST THE PKK
The US is considering concrete steps with
Iraq against the terrorist PKK, and this
must be done "more aggressively," said US
National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley
after talks between US President George W.
Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki
on Tuesday. Stressing that Bush had given
assurances to Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, Hadley said, “I think he
(Erdogan) was relieved. Now we've got to
deliver on it (our pledge).” Hadley said the
US has told Turkey that with Turkish
civilians and security forces being killed
by the PKK, Washington recognizes the
seriousness of the problem. /The New
Anatolian/
[08] CHP’S TOPUZ: “THE PKK IS BEING
USED AGAINST TURKEY”
Main opposition Republican People’s Party
(CHP) Deputy Ali Topuz charged yesterday
that the US and Iraqi governments are using
the PKK against Turkey. “The US and Iraqi
governments protect PKK guerillas in
northern Iraq and are determined to use the
PKK against Turkey,” claimed Topuz.
/Cumhuriyet/
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…
[10] A NEW MIDEAST
BY SOLI OZEL (SABAH)
Columnist Soli Ozel comments on the new
Middle East. A summary of his column is as
follows:
“The warm weather and unbearable scenes of
war have fueled the production of fantastic
thoughts in Turkey. There are speculations
that the US is willing to make Turkey face
the threat of separation and that after
Lebanon, it's our turn. Of course those who
write such things have reliable sources and
deep theoretical frameworks that they use in
seeing and evaluating these incidents. Those
who evaluate the same incidents using
different sources and historic perspectives
can reach different conclusions. Considering
the latest developments filling everywhere
with blood and fire, we face remarkable
scenes. Some people who listened to the
remarks made by US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice during her visits to
Lebanon and Israel suspected that she was
living on another planet. There was nothing
surprising about the failure of the meeting
in Rome, because Iran and Syria, which are
considered rogue states by the US, weren’t
ready. If you don’t invite the direct or
indirect parties of the problem to the
summit and think that it’s too early for a
ceasefire, this is your result. In addition,
there is another problem. Israel is facing a
Hezbollah which is stronger than it
expected, and the Israeli press has started
to criticize the process of deciding to
launch this operation and the Israeli Army’s
performance so far. In the beginning,
Lebanese public opinion wasn’t in favor of
Hezbollah, but now it’s angry with Israel.
It’s very likely that this war will continue
for two or three more weeks. If in the end
Israel doesn’t invade Lebanon like it did in
1982, Hezbollah will hold onto most of its
power and maintain its influence on Lebanese
politics. In addition, as long as the war
continues and scenes of terrible suffering
are shown on TV screens, Hezbollah’s
popularity is rising among the Sunnis,
because the organization is resisting Israel
and carrying the Palestinian issue on its
shoulders.
It can’t be said this conflict will make
Iran and Syria weaker. On the contrary, Iran
will take a harder line on its nuclear
program. It’s getting less likely that the
US will be able to find support to pressure
Iran at the United Nations. Meanwhile, Syria
feels stronger than last year. Influential
circles in the US want to take Syria away
from Iran and overcome this trouble.
However, Damascus would have to trust US
President George W. Bush and Israel would
have to pledge to return the Golan Heights
for Damascus to take such a step under these
conditions. The US said that it would
increase the number of its soldiers in Iraq.
It’s hard to believe that this would solve
the problems in this country, which is
painted in blood. According to Bernard
Haykel, a Lebanese researcher who knows
al-Qaeda very well, al-Qaeda is getting
angry due to Hezbollah’s success and
therefore it might organize a terrorist
attack against the West in order to remain
leader of the jihad. No power to establish a
new Middle East is apparent. A power which
is in such a difficult situation wouldn’t
want Turkey to be unstable or facing the
threat of separation. In the final analysis,
an unstable Turkey facing the threat of
separation depends on the preference and
policies of those living in Turkey.”
ARCHIVE
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