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Turkish Press Review, 06-07-28
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
28.07.2006
SEZER, ERDOGAN, AND ARINC ATTEND WAR ACADEMY GRADUATION CEREMONY
ERDOGAN TO ATTEND EXTRAORDINARY OIC MEETING NEXT WEEK
ARINC URGES EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TO INTENSIFY EFFORTS TO HALT ISRAEL’S
BOMBINGS OF LEBANON
CHP’S ALI TOPUZ: “WE SHOULDN’T GET CAUGHT IN THE MIDEAST QUAGMIRE”
LEBANESE AMBASSADOR TO ANKARA: “TURKEY SHOULD PLAY A LEADING ROLE IN A
POSSIBLE PEACEKEEPING FORCE”
LOS ANGELES TIMES: “TURKEY TO CONSIDER ROLE IN PEACEKEEPING IN LEBANON”
SAUDI KING TO VISIT TURKEY
MILITARY PLANE CRASHES IN KONYA
PKK MINE KILLS MAJOR, INJURES TWO OFFICERS
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
ANKARA’S STANCE BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER, ERDOGAN, AND ARINC ATTEND WAR ACADEMY GRADUATION CEREMONY
[02] ERDOGAN TO ATTEND EXTRAORDINARY OIC MEETING NEXT WEEK
[03] ARINC URGES EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TO INTENSIFY EFFORTS TO HALT ISRAEL’S BOMBINGS OF LEBANON
[04] CHP’S ALI TOPUZ: “WE SHOULDN’T GET CAUGHT IN THE MIDEAST QUAGMIRE”We shouldn’t get caught in the Mideast quagmire, said main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Ali Topuz yesterday. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul stated earlier in the week that Turkey was ready to join a peacekeeping force after a cease-fire is established in Lebanon. Commenting on Gul’s statements, Topuz said, “The Parliament should convene and discuss this issue. Gul is acting imprudently.” /Cumhuriyet/
[05] LEBANESE AMBASSADOR TO ANKARA: “TURKEY SHOULD PLAY A LEADING ROLE IN A POSSIBLE PEACEKEEPING FORCE”
[06] LOS ANGELES TIMES: “TURKEY TO CONSIDER ROLE IN PEACEKEEPING IN LEBANON”Turkey is considering a role in a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, wrote the Los Angeles Times yesterday. The paper quoted a Foreign Ministry official as saying Turkey would first want to see a strong UN mandate for the force that would define its role, where it would serve and its rules of engagement. /Aksam/
[07] SAUDI KING TO VISIT TURKEY
[08] MILITARY PLANE CRASHES IN KONYA
[09] PKK MINE KILLS MAJOR, INJURES TWO OFFICERS
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[11] ANKARA’S STANCE BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
[01] SEZER, ERDOGAN, AND ARINC ATTEND WAR ACADEMY GRADUATION CEREMONY
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc, and Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi
Ozkok yesterday attended the graduation ceremony at the War Academies in
Istanbul and handed out diplomas to the graduates. Addressing the gathering,
War Academies Commander Gen. Aydogan Babaoglu stated that Turkey must have
up-to-date military technology in order to maintain its place in the world.
Babaoglu added that the technical capacity to protect the country against
threats wasn’t enough. In related news, Erdogan, Ozkok, and Defense
Minister Vecdi Gonul yesterday met at Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace to
discuss recent terrorist attacks. /Turkiye/
[02] ERDOGAN TO ATTEND EXTRAORDINARY OIC MEETING NEXT WEEK
The Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC) is due to hold an
extraordinary meeting next Wednesday to discuss recent developments in the
Mideast and likely condemn Israel’s bombings of Lebanon. Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to travel to Malaysia to attend the
meeting. The premier is expected to tell the gathering that all countries
should cooperate in assisting Lebanon. /Aksam/
[03] ARINC URGES EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TO INTENSIFY EFFORTS TO HALT ISRAEL’S
BOMBINGS OF LEBANON
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc yesterday sent a letter to the European
Parliament calling for it to intensify efforts to stop Israel’s bombings of
Lebanon and to ensure peace. He stressed that Europe shouldn’t be a mere
bystander to the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Lebanon. In his letter,
Arinc said that Israel had the right to protect itself, but using
disproportionate force against Lebanese civilians couldn’t be excused.
/Milliyet/
[04] CHP’S ALI TOPUZ: “WE SHOULDN’T GET CAUGHT IN THE MIDEAST QUAGMIRE”We
shouldn’t get caught in the Mideast quagmire, said main opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Ali Topuz yesterday. Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul stated earlier in the week that Turkey was ready to
join a peacekeeping force after a cease-fire is established in Lebanon.
Commenting on Gul’s statements, Topuz said, “The Parliament should convene
and discuss this issue. Gul is acting imprudently.” /Cumhuriyet/
[05] LEBANESE AMBASSADOR TO ANKARA: “TURKEY SHOULD PLAY A LEADING ROLE IN A
POSSIBLE PEACEKEEPING FORCE”
Lebanese Ambassador to Ankara George Siam yesterday visited Felicity Party
(SP) leader Recai Kutan to discuss a number of issues, including Israel’s
bombings of Beirut. During their meeting, Siam said that Turkey should play
a leading role in a possible peacekeeping force to be formed in the
Mideast. He added that Lebanon’s financial losses due to the recent Israeli
bombings total more than $3 billion. /Star/
[06] LOS ANGELES TIMES: “TURKEY TO CONSIDER ROLE IN PEACEKEEPING IN
LEBANON”Turkey is considering a role in a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon,
wrote the Los Angeles Times yesterday. The paper quoted a Foreign Ministry
official as saying Turkey would first want to see a strong UN mandate for
the force that would define its role, where it would serve and its rules of
engagement. /Aksam/
[07] SAUDI KING TO VISIT TURKEY
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah is due to pay an official visit to Turkey on
Aug. 8-9 at the invitation of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. During his
short stay in Ankara, Abdullah is expected to be accompanied by several
ministers and businessmen. The Saudi businessmen are interested in energy
distribution tenders in Turkey and the Southeastern Anatolian Project
(GAP). Abdullah will meet with Sezer to discuss a number of issues,
including recent developments in the Mideast. /Sabah/
[08] MILITARY PLANE CRASHES IN KONYA
A military plane yesterday crashed in Konya. In the accident, pilot Lt.
Akgun Sezginer died. From 2001 to 2005 Sezginer had been a member of the
Turkish Stars flight exhibition team. /All papers/
[09] PKK MINE KILLS MAJOR, INJURES TWO OFFICERS
Gendarmerie Maj. Adil Karagoz was killed yesterday and two other security
officers were injured in an explosion triggered by a landmine laid by the
terrorist group PKK. The mine exploded in a rural area near Bingol’s Genc
district. /Hurriyet/
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[11] ANKARA’S STANCE BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
Columnist Fikret Bila comments on Ankara’s stance on the Israeli-Lebanese
conflict. A summary of his column is as follows:
“During Wednesday’s meeting in Rome, I can list three issues on the table:
establishing a cease-fire, opening humanitarian aid corridors and sending
an international peacekeeping force. Naturally, establishing a cease-fire
is the common view of 15 countries, but there are certain differences in
their stances. For example, US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice stated that
the US also wants a cease-fire, but it also says that proper conditions are
needed for this. It thinks that otherwise it wouldn't be lasting. The
conditions of the cease-fire are important. Therefore, the US won’t say
that it wants a cease-fire immediately regardless of what follows. On the
contrary, a formula found by Italy was accepted during the meeting: ‘to
work immediately for a cease-fire in Lebanon.’ As part of this, Rice will
hold contacts in the region again. Turkey welcomes these three issues
positively. It wants a cease-fire. It also supports opening corridors to
deliver aid to civilians caught in difficult situations and favors sending
an international peacekeeping force, on the condition that it is under UN
auspices. This stance of Ankara was reflected by Foreign Minister Abdullah
Gul during the meeting in Rome.
When the government was determining its stance for Rome and conditions for
sending soldiers, it consulted with the General Staff and got the
military’s views. Accordingly, Turkey can send soldiers to the peacekeeping
force in Lebanon in non-combatant positions, based on a UN resolution.
Ankara favors a duty with no combatant function or risk during the
peacekeeping stage. For this purpose, firstly there must be a cease-fire.
Turkey is already doing its duty to provide aid. The Mersin-Adana line is
used as a corridor. The next stage is to establish safety corridors to
reach civilians trapped in certain parts of Lebanon. Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul’s remarks in Rome echoed his speech in Tehran which included
new openings for Mideast countries at that time. Gul’s message in Rome can
be summarized as follows: It would be misleading to consider the Israeli-
Lebanese conflict as a local issue. Unless meaningful steps are taken for
the Palestinian issue, it would be harder to find a lasting solution. The
conflict might spread to a larger area. Democracy is a lasting solution.
Democracy is the healthiest solution for countries of the region. However,
it should be provided not at the insistence of other countries, but with
the inner dynamics of the countries themselves. Leaders and the countries
in the region should act with common sense. Acting with the understanding
of ‘who is more powerful?’ will only deepen the chaos in the Middle East.”
ARCHIVE
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