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Turkish Press Review, 07-01-30
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
30.01.2007
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN ATTENDS AFRICA SUMMIT IN ETHIOPIA
[02] SWEDISH EU MINISTER IN ANKARA
[03] ISRAELI PREMIER TO VISIT TURKEY NEXT MONTH
[04] EU TERM PRESIDENT GERMANY PLANS TO OPEN 3 CHAPTERS IN TURKEY'S TALKS
[05] US' RALSTON TO VISIT ANKARA
[06] WB HEAD WOLFOWITZ: "TURKEY'S EDUCATION SYSTEM IS TOUGH, AND IT NEEDS FLEXIBILITY"
[07] TUZMEN REJECTS IRAQI NOTICES ON OIL CONTRACTS
[08] RELATIONS WITH YEREVAN
[01] ERDOGAN ATTENDS AFRICA SUMMIT IN ETHIOPIA
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday attended the opening of the
Eighth African Union summit of heads of state and government held in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia. Addressing the African leaders at the gathering, Erdogan
warned that extremists and terrorists are trying to push the world into a
dark, bottomless abyss, adding that the Alliance of Civilizations, an
initiative launched by Turkey and Spain, was working to alter this course.
"We aim at forming extensive cooperation, peace and an atmosphere of
cohesion by means of highlighting common values of different cultures and
religions," underlined the premier. Concerning the situation in Somalia and
Darfour, Erdogan said that Ankara attaches great importance to the
territorial integrity of Somalia and wants clashes there to end as soon as
possible. He also stated that Turkey was trying to draw up a legal
framework for political, economic, commercial, military and cultural
relations with Africa. Furthermore, Erdogan asked that African countries
support Turkey's bid for a temporary seat on the United Nations Security
Council. Erdogan was specially invited to the summit by Oumar Konare, the
head of African Union Commission, making him the first prime minister of
the Republic of Turkey to attend the summit. Turkey was accepted to the
union in April 2005 with observer country status. /Turkiye/
[02] SWEDISH EU MINISTER IN ANKARA
Swedish Minister for European Union Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom arrived in
Turkey yesterday. The minister had no planned official meeting slated for
Monday but will have talks today with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul,
Parliament's EU Harmonization Commission head Yasar Yakis and Mehmet
Elkatmis, head of Parliament's Human Rights Commission. /Turkish Daily
News/
[03] ISRAELI PREMIER TO VISIT TURKEY NEXT MONTH
Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert is set to pay an official visit to Turkey on
Feb. 15. Olmert's scheduled visit to Ankara last August was canceled due to
developments in the Mideast. He is expected to have talks with his Turkish
counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the situation in the Mideast, the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Lebanon and Iran's nuclear program. /Star/
[04] EU TERM PRESIDENT GERMANY PLANS TO OPEN 3 CHAPTERS IN TURKEY'S TALKS
During its six-month term presidency of the European Union, Germany is
planning to open talks with Turkey in three chapters. Germany reportedly
aims to begin talks with Turkey on the chapter of companies and industrial
policies at the end of April, and then the chapters of statistics as well
as economic and monetary policy in mid-June. EU sources state that Germany
is also resolved to approve direct trade regulations with the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), an issue which has seen no progress
since 2004. /Star/
[05] US' RALSTON TO VISIT ANKARA
US Special Envoy for countering terrorism Joseph Ralston is due in Ankara
today to have key talks with Turkish officials. Ralston is expected to meet
with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar
Buyukanit to exchange views on the issue of the PKK in northern Iraq.
During his two-day stay, Ralston and his Turkish counterpart Edip Baser
will review efforts in the fight against the terrorist PKK and progress in
the newly established mechanism against terror groups. In related news,
before his visit to Ankara, Ralston, accompanied by a delegation, yesterday
visited the Mahmur Refugee Camp in northern Iraq and had talks with
representatives of the camp about the situation there. The visit came after
Ankara's criticisms of Washington's ineffectiveness against the PKK. /Aksam-
Turkiye/
[06] WB HEAD WOLFOWITZ: "TURKEY'S EDUCATION SYSTEM IS TOUGH, AND IT NEEDS
FLEXIBILITY"
Speaking to Hurriyet, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz yesterday said,
"I think that Turkey's economic and social development are both important
not only for the Turkish people but for all Muslims of the world. I believe
this will be a good model for the people in these regions, as it already
has been. What I like in my visit to Turkey as World Bank president is that
I can focus on important issues related to Turkey and to find the
opportunity to participate in this process." Also touching on education
issues, Wofowitz said, "I spoke about education with Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. On Sunday we had a meeting with Turkish young people about
education where we listened to their views and could see that education has
become an important issue. As a former professor and dean, I can say that
the Turkish education system is tough. If we consider the changing
conditions we face today, it is important to have an education system which
can rapidly adapt to these conditions, and is flexible and open to
innovation. The prime minister also said that a lot of things should be
done about the issue." /Hurriyet/
[07] TUZMEN REJECTS IRAQI NOTICES ON OIL CONTRACTS
State Minister Kursad Tuzmen yesterday rejected as "unacceptable" recent
Iraqi National Oil Company (SOMO) notices telling Turkish companies who
export oil products to neighboring Iraq that they should contact northern
Iraqi officials if they want to continue to do business. Tuzmen said that
these were notices sent from company to company, not official letters sent
from one state to another, adding, "As Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
said, our counterpart is the central government, the Iraqi government."
Before his visit to Libya, Tuzmen told a press conference that he has been
aware of the situation since earlier this month and added, "We have been
working in Iraq with the Oil Ministry and SOMO. But we've never seen such
an unproductive period from SOMO." Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry is
awaiting a reply to their letter to the Baghdad administration responding
to the SOMO notice. New measures reportedly might be taken to stop oil
shipments through the Habur border gate if Baghdad's stance doesn't change.
/Sabah/
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[08] RELATIONS WITH YEREVAN
BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Sami Kohen comments on Turkish-Armenian relations. A summary of
his column is as follows:
"How will the atmosphere created by the murder of Hrant Dink influence
Turkey's foreign relations in terms of Yerevan? Will this incident cause a
rapprochement between Ankara and Yerevan and the Armenian diaspora? How
will it be reflected in certain countries' tendency to enact pro-Armenian
legislation? Firstly, the shock created by Dink's murder created hope after
certain positive signals coming mostly from Turkey. The Turkish nation's
criticism, the government's sensitivity, the capture of the gunman and
other suspects and the participation of important people from Armenia and
the diaspora in the funeral created surprise and sympathy in foreign
circles. Certain European newspapers even claimed that this tragic incident
could be an opportunity to melt the ice between Turks and Armenians and
defuse the so-called Armenian genocide as a source of tension.
Repercussions of this hateful attack reminded people of the rapprochement
between Turkey and Greece following our devastating 1999 Marmara
earthquake. Of course, these two incidents are very different, but the
similarity is that civil society gave an immediate and sincere response and
took a step for mutual understanding and sympathy.
The basic thought in the rapprochement between Turkey and Greece was that
the leaders of the two sides knew that they could have solved the problem
between them quickly and easily. However, they also thought that dialogue
must certainly be established so the two neighboring countries can live
peacefully. Likewise, an atmosphere of softening initiated by civil society
dominated thanks to this policy. Actually, the political disagreements are
still unsolved, but the two sides learned how to live with their problems.
Can such a model be applied in normalizing relations between Turkey and
Armenia? Diplomatic relations don't exist, the borders are closed and there
are no official contacts between the two countries. Ankara stipulates
certain preconditions to establish normal relations. For example, it wants
Armenia to end its occupation of Karabagh and reconcile with Azerbaijan.
Turkey also wants joint commission set up to examine the genocide claims.
Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakosian, who came to Istanbul to
attend Dink's funeral, suggested that relations be established
unconditionally. However, the two sides only repeated their usual
positions.
Actually, it's not so easy to normalize relations between Ankara and
Yerevan. There are certain complications for the two sides. However, these
difficulties can and should be overcome with political will and courage.
Ankara's establishing relations with Yerevan can ensure a better
understanding with the diaspora and even prevent certain countries
supporting the genocide claims. Of course, there's no guaranteed such an
opening would prevent the US Congress from passing an Armenian resolution
or stop the campaigns of diaspora militants. However, the policies we've
followed up to now haven't been very effective, and Turkey's relations with
many countries have been harmed for this reason. The atmosphere which
emerged after Dink's murder can create an opportunity to try new
strategies. Now it's time for the two sides to take steps in this
direction."
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