Turkish Press Review, 06-07-31

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From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>

31.07.2006

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY STRONGLY CONDEMNS ISRAEL’S BOMBING

[01] TURKEY STRONGLY CONDEMNS ISRAEL’S BOMBING

The extraordinary meeting of the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC) is due to be held in Istanbul tomorrow. During the extraordinary meeting, Israel’s recent bombings of Lebanon and how to provide assistance to the Lebanese and Palestinian nations will be discussed. The meeting will be organized jointly by the Islamic Development Bank and the Islamic Chamber of Commerce. /Milliyet/[03] BAHCELI: “TURKEY FACES SERIOUS PROBLEMS BOTH AT HOME AND ABROAD”

Speaking at a meeting of his party in Konya over the weekend, opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli said that Turkey faces serious problems both at home and abroad. Commenting on recent conflicts in the Mideast, Bahceli said that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan should look at the Mideast from the Turkish nation’s point of view. Also commenting on Iraq, Bahceli stressed that Iraq was being divided and that the deaths of people in the country exceeded deaths during the Iraq war. /Turkiye/ [04] FEMINIST WRITER DUYGU ASENA PASSES AWAY

Leading Turkish feminist journalist-writer Duygu Asena died yesterday after fighting a brain tumor for two years. Asena, who was 60, published a book in 1987 entitled “Woman Has No Name,” which led to discussions and controversy. In the book, Asena evaluated woman’s place in the society and family. /Cumhuriyet/[05] ENERGY SUMMIT TO BE HELD TODAY

State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan, and Energy Minister Hilmi Guler are expected to gather today to discuss energy issues. The energy summit, which will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener, will focus on formulas to find a solution to Turkey's energy needs. /Aksam/ [06] TUZMEN: “WE'VE ALREADY REACHED OUR EXPORT TARGET FOR THIS YEAR”

State Minister Kursat Tuzmen said yesterday that the exports target for this year has already been achieved. Saying that the 2006 export target was $79 billion, Tuzmen added that goal had been achieved this month. “We’ve already met the program target,” he said. “Exports in the next five months will surpass the program’s target. We predict that we’ll reach $82-84 billion in exports by the end of the year.” Tuzmen added that difficulties exporters face due to recent fluctuations in the foreign exchange rate were being overcome. /Aksam/[07] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…[00] TRAGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH THE USBY MUSTAFA BALBAY (CUMHURIYET)

Columnist Mustafa Balbay comments on the Turkish-US partnership. A summary of his column is as follows:

“When US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice said during her visit to Israel last week that it was time for a 'new Middle East,' the new map of the Middle East again went on the table. Not only the context of such remarks, but also their basis is important. Rice made this remark in Israel! I will deal with details of the US plans for the Middle East in a future column, but here are a few issues:

1. After the Cold War, everything started to be reshaped in Eastern Europe, Asia and the Balkans, and this continues even today. As the Middle East is a very warm region, post-Cold War arrangements are just starting here.

2. What’s going on today in the Middle East is the reflection of the US- European Union conflict.

3. It seems that the US has no intention of leaving this region to anyone. If the main force to go to Lebanon is under NATO auspices, it means that the US invasion has started. But if it's under the UN, that means the conflict will go on.

Now let’s talk about ourselves. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is trying to make a splash in the US operation in the Middle East. He must be thinking that playing a role there is an important investment in the next elections. In the past, when 'investment for elections' was mentioned, people used to think that it meant giving civil servants raises or boosting producer prices a bit more than expected, etc. The understanding of these investments changed with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Among the new investment instruments are touring around the circle of fire and placating the IMF! Turkey’s role for the Middle East as chosen by the US is like taking several roles in the same movie by changing your outfit and makeup. Turkey will never enter northern Iraq, but it will look from afar and pretend that it’s really angry. On the contrary, it will join the force to be formed in Lebanon. Turkey will be among the ‘loser’ countries in the map of the new Middle East drawn by Rice. On the contrary, it will support the US so the new Middle East can be a success. In sum, the US is saying that Iraq is the US’ territory and you can never enter there even to prevent terrorism, and the US also wants help so Lebanon will be under US control. This is not called a strategic partnership, but a tragic partnership. The US support for the Israeli attacks on Lebanon show that the Bush administration has no individual plan for the countries in the Middle East but one for the entire region. No matter how much blood is necessary to implement this, it will be shed. In addition, the respect for the US and Turkey in this region will suffer erosion. The policy which was shaped by Erdogan and his advisors is turning the AKP not into a Turkish Republic government but one of the ruling parties with an irresolute basis.”

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