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Turkish Press Review, 06-11-15
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
15.11.2006
CONTENTS
[01] MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT VISITS TURKEY
[02] ERDOGAN ADDRESSES GROUP MEETING, RESPONDS TO SECULARIST SLOGANS AT ECEVIT'S FUNERAL
[03] GUL: "WE WON'T MAKE CONCESSIONS ON CYPRUS"
[04] BAYKAL: "NO ONE SHOULD TRY TO PROFIT FROM ECEVIT'S FUNERAL"
[05] BABACAN: "NOT TURKEY, BUT THE EU IS TIRED"
[06] AKSU MEETS WITH CHINESE OFFICIALS IN BEIJING
[07] SHP LEADER KARAYALCIN MEETS WITH ITALIAN PM
[08] ARINC CALLS ON FRANCE TO OPEN ITS S
[09] EDUCATION PROBLEMS DISCUSSED AT SUMMIT
[10] FROM NEGOTIATION TO ARMISTICE
[01] MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT VISITS TURKEY
Macedonian President Branko Crvenskovski yesterday met with Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer hosted a dinner for his Macedonian counterpart, with State
Minister Kursat Tuzmen and main opposition leader Deniz Baykal also in
attendance. Sezer said that he considered Macedonia a worthy neighbor, and
Crvenskovski, for his part, said that his visit constituted an opportunity
to further his country's strategic aims. /Star/
[02] ERDOGAN ADDRESSES GROUP MEETING, RESPONDS TO SECULARIST SLOGANS AT
ECEVIT'S FUNERAL
Speaking at his party's group meeting yesterday, ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded to secularist
slogans chanted by crowds at former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's state
funeral held on Saturday, saying that for years the nation has been
preoccupied with such concepts. "Such concepts don't make poor people
wealthy, contribute to Turkey's growth or enrich our democratic life," said
Erdogan. "Don't divide our country with them." He further stated that his
party wouldn't get embroiled in such arguments or allow such unfruitful
periods again. /Sabah/
[03] GUL: "WE WON'T MAKE CONCESSIONS ON CYPRUS"
Speaking before Parliament's Planning and Budgetary Commission yesterday,
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul addressed a number of issues, including the
Cyprus situation. Rebuffing criticisms of the government's Cyprus policy,
the foreign minister said that the government wasn't making concessions on
the issue. Saying that Cyprus was a national cause, Gul stated that the
government was trying to protect the rights of the Turkish Cypriots. He
stressed that the economy of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
was improving along with its political life. Also commenting on Turkey's
European Union membership bid, Gul said that relations between Turkey and
the EU carry strategic importance. "I don't think that there will be a
‘train crash' on our way to the EU, but if there is, everyone would be hurt
by this," added Gul. Later, the budget of the Foreign Ministry was passed
by the commission. /Aksam/
[04] BAYKAL: "NO ONE SHOULD TRY TO PROFIT FROM ECEVIT'S FUNERAL"
Speaking at his party's group meeting yesterday, main opposition Republican
People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal commented on secularist slogans
chanted at the state funeral of former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, saying
that the nation was using these to protest the policies of the government.
"When they see Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, they need to say that
Turkey will remain secular," he said. Baykal stressed that the funeral
shouldn't be considered a search for possible alliances among leftist
parties. "No one should try to profit from Ecevit's funeral," said Baykal.
"Turkey is defending itself and its republic with such slogans." /Sabah/
[05] BABACAN: "NOT TURKEY, BUT THE EU IS TIRED"
State Minister and Turkey's chief negotiator for European Union accession
talks Ali Babacan, on a continuing tour of EU countries, yesterday met with
Luxembourg's Minister for EU Affairs Nicolas Schmit. Following the talks,
Babacan told reporters that the ninth reform package would be implemented
soon, adding that Ankara was moving speedily on the issues of human rights
and freedom of speech. Stressing that laws needed time to be embraced by
the people, Babacan dismissed allegations that Turkey had lost his pace on
reforms. He added that in addition to political developments, Turkey had
also made reforms to its economy. Furthermore, Babacan said that during the
accession talks, Turkey was moving easily in technical aspects, while
facing difficulties in political matters. "The atmosphere in the EU
opposing the enlargement is causing difficulty. Especially following the
entrance of 10 new members, the EU is suffering from weariness," he added.
Schmit, for his part, stated that he welcomed Ankara's remarks that it was
open to dialogue and that he expected developments on the Cyprus issue
before next month's EU summit. /Turkiye/
[06] AKSU MEETS WITH CHINESE OFFICIALS IN BEIJING
Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu yesterday arrived in Beijing, the
People's Republic of China to pay a five-day official visit. As part of his
contacts there, Aksu is set to meet with Public Security Minister Zhou
Yongkang and other officials to boost cooperation in security between the
two countries. /Turkiye/
[07] SHP LEADER KARAYALCIN MEETS WITH ITALIAN PM
Opposition Social Democratic People's Party (SHP) leader Murat Karayalcin
yesterday said, "The Association Council is the place to discuss Greek
Cypriot vessels and planes coming to Turkish harbors and airports, not
[next month's European Union] summit meeting." Karayalcin was in Rome to
meet with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. After the meeting,
Karayalcin told a press conference that Prodi considered the EU's Dec. 14
Helsinki summit to be important and was worried about facing a deadlock
there. Stating that Prodi had pointed to the importance of next year's
elections in France, Karayalcin said that the European public would be
influenced by these elections. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] ARINC CALLS ON FRANCE TO OPEN ITS S
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc yesterday called on France to open its
archives as Turkey has in response to Armenian allegations of genocide, in
an apparent reference to Algerian killings under French colonial rule.
Arinc made his remarks at Parliament while opening the exhibition "Living
Together Under the Heavens," on the 160th anniversary of the start of the
registry of Ottoman archives. Archive documents from the Ottoman Empire are
being shown at the exhibit. "Open your archives as we have done. Show the
whole world what you have done in the countries where you once ruled,"
Arinc said. /Turkish Daily News/
[09] EDUCATION PROBLEMS DISCUSSED AT SUMMIT
The 17th Education Summit continued its work in Ankara yesterday on the
second day of the gathering. There, education experts discussed the
university and high school entrance exams. /Milliyet/
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[10] FROM NEGOTIATION TO ARMISTICE
BY HIKMET BILA (CUMHURIYET)
Columnist Hikmet Bila comments on Turkish-EU relations. A summary of his
column is as follows:
"Eventually former US Ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke also raised
his voice. This is the person who after solving the Bosnian crisis, tried
to solve the Cyprus problem but left the post. Holbrooke spoke at a
roundtable meeting in Brussels. The name of the meeting is interesting:
‘Have We Lost Turkey?' He asked EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn
the following question: ‘Will you accept Turkey as a member if it fulfills
all the conditions? Whatever Turkey does, the EU changes its conditions.'
Holbrooke summarized the situation: ‘There are always hostile messages from
the EU to Turkey."
There's not a single mistake in the words of Holbrooke, because the EU's
behavior towards Turkey is no longer a negotiation. It turned into the
pressure of an armistice. Now the entire world sees that the EU requests of
Turkey are voices raised from the parliaments of the member states. These
aren't EU accords or requests, but horrible cries. Can the EU cry? Yes, it
can. It can cry if it does something contrary to its criteria only to make
Turkey kneel. Yes the EU made a big mistake two-and-a-half years ago by
making the Greek Cypriots a member of the EU under the name ‘Republic of
Cyprus.' The EU, which tells its candidates not to expect membership
without solving even the smallest disagreements, made a divided Cyprus a
member of the EU. Cyprus is the region where you face the most complex
problems. The EU realized enosis (uniting Cyprus with Greece) by accepting
Cyprus as a member. This is a foxy game cloaked by the concepts of
democracy, freedom and human rights.
Now the EU wants Turkey to accept this fait accompli by setting a deadline:
‘By Dec. 14' (the date of the EU summit).'Will Turkey accept this? It's
difficult. Not every government can accept this. The rejection of this fair
accompli wouldn't end Turkey's dreams of EU membership, but its acceptance
would. The reason for this is that other fait accomplis will follow. The
way to good Turkish-EU relations must make the EU accept what a foolish
mistake it made. Will the EU accept that it made a mistake? Yes, it will.
It's already aware of it. That's why it's so confused. Turkey should have a
strong and determined will."
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