|
|
Turkish Press Review, 07-01-17
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
17.01.2007
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN SAYS ANKARA WON'T BE BYSTANDER TO DEVELOPMENTS IN KIRKUK, IRAQ
[02] GUL MEETS WITH TURKMEN LEADER, DISCUSSES RISING TENSION IN IRAQ
[03] PARLIAMENT TO HOLD CLOSED SESSION ON IRAQ
[04] DYP'S AGAR PROPOSES "BENELUX" MODEL FOR IRAQ, REGION
[05] US AMBASSADOR WILSON SPEAKS ON IRAQ, TURKEY
[06] US STATE DEPT: "WASHINGTON WILL WORK WITH TURKEY TO ENSURE SECURITY ALONG THE IRAQI BORDER"
[07] REHN: "THE EU'S PROMISES MADE TO TURKEY SHOULD BE KEPT"
[08] TURKEY'S SRI LANKAN CONSUL GENERAL HONORED
[09] BABACAN: "THE GOVT WON'T CHANGE ECONOMIC POLICIES FOR THIS YEAR'S ELECTIONS"
[10] IMF CHIEF DOWNPLAYS POSTPONED ELECTRICITY PRIVATIZATION
[11] A KURDISH STATE AND THE KIRKUK QUESTION
[01] ERDOGAN SAYS ANKARA WON'T BE BYSTANDER TO DEVELOPMENTS IN KIRKUK, IRAQ
Speaking at his party's group meeting yesterday, Prime Minister and ruling
Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan commented
on a number of issues, including recent developments in the Iraqi city of
Kirkuk. Stressing that Ankara was closely following developments in Iraq
and Kirkuk, Erdogan added, however, that it couldn't be a mere bystander to
these developments. Erdogan stated that the government was stating its
views on Kirkuk, adding that Ankara has always favored Iraq's territorial
integrity. Stressing that Turkey has contributed to Iraq's stability and
security up to now, Erdogan added that this support would continue. /Sabah/
[02] GUL MEETS WITH TURKMEN LEADER, DISCUSSES RISING TENSION IN IRAQ
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday met with Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF)
leader Sadettin Ergec to discuss the rising tension in Iraq. Speaking
afterwards, Ergec said that he had met with Gul to thank him for Ankara's
steps to support Iraq's unity, adding that Gul had further pledged all
necessary moral and political support. Asked about Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan's remarks saying that Ankara wouldn't allow a fait accompli
in Kirkuk, Ergec said that he believes this is Turkey's political view.
Asked about a possible Turkish intervention in the region, Ergec stressed
that he and Gul had talked about moral and political support only. In
related news, Gul is expected to pay an official visit to Washington next
month. He will meet with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during his
stay to discuss Iraq, the terrorist PKK, and the Middle East. Later, he
will hold contacts in New York. /Turkiye/
[03] PARLIAMENT TO HOLD CLOSED SESSION ON IRAQ
After Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul accepted Republican People's Party
(CHP) leader Deniz Baykal's proposal to hold a closed Parliament session on
the Kirkuk issue, a closed session was scheduled for next Tuesday. During
his party's group meeting yesterday, Baykal warned that the violence in
Iraq might spread to Turkey and said a leaders' summit should be held. He
said that there might be certain disadvantages to discussing the issue
publicly. While awaiting Gul's reply yesterday, Bakal said that Turkey
could enter Iraq, but only for defense purposes. /Hurriyet/
[04] DYP'S AGAR PROPOSES "BENELUX" MODEL FOR IRAQ, REGION
Stating that Turkey sending soldiers should be considered a last resort for
the Iraq issue, True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar yesterday proposed
an "expanded Benelux model" for the country. The model envisages an
economic and commercial cooperation area starting from Georgia and
extending to Iraq. Speaking on news channel NTV, Agar said that the Iraq
issue was very important for Turkey and added, "Turkey should act
responsibly and coolly. It shouldn't stir up passions due to our upcoming
elections." Agar added that he hoped that Turkish democracy would maintain
its foresight concerning the issue of May's presidential election and
further urged that general elections be held before Parliament elects a new
president. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] US AMBASSADOR WILSON SPEAKS ON IRAQ, TURKEY
While Parliament is preparing for a special session on Kirkuk, US
Ambassador to Ankara Ross Wilson said yesterday that the US would convey
its views on the issue to the Turkish government and that Parliament
discussing the issue was very appropriate. Asked about the prime minister's
remarks that Turkey can't be a bystander to the Kirkuk issue, Wilson told
reporters that the Iraqi people should decide on Kirkuk's future. Wilson
added that Kirkuk's future was a very important issue in terms of Iraq's
political development and that both Washington and Ankara should recognize
this. /Star/
[06] US STATE DEPT: "WASHINGTON WILL WORK WITH TURKEY TO ENSURE SECURITY
ALONG THE IRAQI BORDER"
US State Department spokesman Tom Casey yesterday told a press conference
that that US President George W. Bush had expressed the US' willingness to
cooperate to ensure security along the Turkish-Iraqi border. When asked
about Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's complaints that the US
government hadn't taken sufficient steps against the terrorist PKK, Casey
pointed to Bush's remarks on his new Iraq strategy. Casey said that Bush
places importance on Turkey and Iraq working in cooperation with the US
while dealing with any security issues on their shared border. Casey added
that these remarks were also supported by previous US efforts. /Aksam/
[07] REHN: "THE EU'S PROMISES MADE TO TURKEY SHOULD BE KEPT"
Speaking after his meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema in
Roma yesterday, European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn said
that the promises the EU made to Turkey would be kept. Asked about what
might happen if French Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkozy, who has
disparaged Turkey's EU bid, is elected France's president, Rehn stated that
periodically questioning Turkey's EU accession perspective harms both the
Union's credibility and Turkey's reforms. "I believe that the EU should be
honest and determined on Turkey's bid," he added. "The promises made to
Turkey should be kept, so we can prove our honesty." /Turkiye/
[08] TURKEY'S SRI LANKAN CONSUL GENERAL HONORED
Deputy Parliament Speaker Ismail Alptekin yesterday received Bharathi
Davina Wijeratne, Turkey's honorary consul general in Kolombo, Sri Lanka,
and his wife, Mano Wijeratne, at his office. Alptekin gave Parliament's
medal to Wijeratne to recognize the work he has done for Turkey in Sri
Lanka. /Cumhuriyet/
[09] BABACAN: "THE GOVT WON'T CHANGE ECONOMIC POLICIES FOR THIS YEAR'S
ELECTIONS"
Speaking at a meeting organized by international rating agency Standard &
Poor's yesterday, State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan said that the
government wouldn't implement election-based economic measures, adding that
2007 was just a year of elections, but not more than that. Babacan added
that for his party to be successful in this fall's general elections, it
would continue its economic policies and reforms. "Otherwise, we could face
certain problems," said Babacan. /Sabah/
[10] IMF CHIEF DOWNPLAYS POSTPONED ELECTRICITY PRIVATIZATION
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato yesterday
said that such decisions as postponing the privatization of electricity
distribution shouldn't be overblown in an atmosphere where elections will
be held soon, as all governments of the world do similar things before
elections. Speaking at a press conference at IMF headquarters in Washington,
Rato said that the economic program in Turkey was being conducted very
successfully and that many reforms have been implemented. He added that
they have complete confidence that the Turkish people are aware of the
advantages to the country of economic reforms and macroeconomic stability.
/Aksam/
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[11] A KURDISH STATE AND THE KIRKUK QUESTION
BY AVNI OZGUREL (RADIKAL)
Columnist Avni Ozgurel comments on Turkey's policy on Kirkuk. A summary of
his column is as follows:
"The state which we didn't want to talk about is being born. The US was
determined to establish a Kurdish state. This is no surprise. It couldn't
be established earlier because conditions didn't favor such a development,
but now it has borne its fruits. Clearly there's nothing Ankara can do at
this point. Military intervention and other words are big lies. We can
laugh at people who talk about Turkey closing its EU bid and going into a
fight against the US.
One pessimistic scenario says that the US would tell Kurdish region leader
Massoud Barzani to postpone the Kirkuk referendum in order to prevent a
Turkish reaction. When should it be postponed until, then? Until after
Turkey's elections. That is, at the end of this year. Then? Then Kirkuk is
Kurdish soil. It's useless to contradict this. This is the outcome.
One can also have hopes that the US is taking us seriously after US
officials told the US Congress that this could lead to a conflict with
Turkey. The answer to the question of whether Kirkuk is gone now is that
it's already in the hands of the Kurds. The Turkmen of Kirkuk have suffered
as much as the city's Kurds. For example, since the '80s, Saddam Hussein
hanged retired military official Abdurrahman, scholar Necdet Kocak, Halit
Akkoyunlu and businessmen Adil Serig only to see what the Turkish reaction
would be. But he continued after seeing that there was no reaction. On
March 28, 1991, he killed 87 Turks. He continued and attacked the Turkmen
who were protesting this issue in front of the Iraqi Consulate in Istanbul,
and two young people died. We didn't react. Think about this and look into
the history of Kirkuk and see for yourself."
|