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Turkish Press Review, 07-01-31Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning31.01.2007CONTENTS
[01] PM ERDOGAN ADDRESSES NATIONIn a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Erdogan yesterday said, "Everyone should be vigilant about tricks by those trying to disturb the unity and solidarity of our nation. Recently we observed efforts aimed at isolating Turkey from the rest of the world and sowing an atmosphere of turmoil. They do such things under the guise of patriotism. We cannot allow them to destroy our social structure." Referring to the recent killing of journalist Hrant Dink, Prime Minister Erdogan said, "Since the legal process has already begun, I do not want to comment in detail. However, there are some points I want to once again stress. It is one of our most important duties to clear up all aspects of Dink's killing and bring the culprits to justice. Moreover, our getting tangible results is of vital importance for preventing further heinous attempts against our tranquility and stability, unity and solidarity, and freedom of expression and democracy." He added, "Our security forces have been trying to do their utmost on the killing of journalist Hrant Dink by learning lessons from their mistakes, if there are any. They succeeded in capturing the key suspect in only 32 hours. Also, efforts have been continuing toe expose the network of connections which led to the killing." /All papers/[02] ERDOGAN SUPPORTS IRAN'S PROPOSAL FOR A SUMMIT IN BAGHDADPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, currently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to attend an African Union Summit, yesterday met with South African President Thabo Mbeki, Democratic Republic of Congo President Deniz Sassou-Nguesso and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki at the local United Nations office. During the meeting, Mottaki proposed to Erdogan a meeting in Baghdad of the foreign ministers of countries neighboring Iraq. Mottaki also told Erdogan about his regional tour and asked for his support in convincing Egypt and Saudi Arabia about the summit. Erdogan told him that he would support him on the matter. Meanwhile, Somalian President Abdullah Yusuf Ahmed asked for Erdogan's help to solve their problems. Erdogan gave his conditional support, saying, "Establish a national unity government and don't exclude anyone." /Sabah/[03] ANKARA HOSTS ANTI-TERROR SUMMITAfter paying a visit to the Mahmur Refugee Camp in northern Iraq, US Special Envoy for countering terrorism Joseph Ralston yesterday arrived in Ankara. Beginning his contacts with the Foreign Ministry, Ralston, accompanied by US Ambassador to Ankara Ross Wilson, exchanged views with his Turkish counterpart Edip Baser and other officials on how to eliminate the threat posed by the terrorist PKK in northern Iraq. He was also received by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. Speaking to reporters, Ralston and Baser said that their efforts to fight the PKK were continuing, adding that all options, including a military operation, were being considered. Stressing that Ankara was absolutely seeking closure of the Mahmur Camp, Baser said that the fight against terrorism wasn't something that can be won in a short period of time. For his part, Ralston said that the Mahmur Refugee Camp had been cleared of PKK militants. Concerning his meeting earlier this week with Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, Ralston said he had tried to convince Barzani that the PKK was a terrorist group which should be eliminated. The US envoy then met with parliamentary deputies during a dinner at the American Embassy. Ralston is expected to be received this morning by Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasasr Buyukanit before flying back to the US. /Turkiye/[04] ANKARA WARNS LEBANON AGAINST GAS DEAL WITH GREEK CYPRUSThe Foreign Ministry yesterday issued a statement warning Lebanon against going ahead with a deal with Greek Cyprus for oil and gas exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean. Stressing that the Turkish Cypriots also have rights to the waters around Cyprus and that Greek Cyprus doesn't represent the whole island, the ministry said that the Greek Cypriot administration's laws or bilateral agreements have no validity for Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/[05] SWEDISH EU MINISTER MEETS WITH YAKIS, HEAD OF PARLIAMENT'S EU COMMISSIONSwedish Minister for European Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom yesterday met with Yasar Yakis, the head of Parliament's European Union Harmonization Commission. During the meeting, Yakis said, "We supported the Annan plan on Cyprus (in 2004), but the Greek Cypriot administration (rejected it and) was rewarded. The EU made a political promise to end the embargo on the Turkish Cypriots." Malmstrom criticized the term "absorption capacity," calling it unacceptable and adding, "We use the term ‘integration capacity.' We can't accept absorption." She also met with Turkey's chief EU negotiator Ali Babacan. Babacan said that Turkey would continue to make progress on its 35 accession chapters, and Malmstrom said that the Swedish people were expecting Turkey to join the EU. /Sabah-Star/[06] ECHR RULES ELECTION THRESHOLD NEEDED FOR STABILITYThe European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled yesterday that 10 percent election threshold in Turkey did not violate human rights. Following consideration of an application filed by two Turkish citizens, Mehmet Yumak and Resul Sadak, who argued that the 10 percent election threshold to get seats in the Turkish Parliament limited political participation, the Strasbourg-based court ruled in favor of Turkey by a 5-2 vote, saying that the threshold aimed at ensuring stability in the country's political life. /Hurriyet/[07] SYRIAN FM IN ANKARA FOR KEY TALKSSyrain Foreign Minister Walid Mualem is paying a working visit to Ankara today for key talks on bilateral relations and regional problems, including Iraq and the Middle East conflict. The Foreign Ministry, in a written statement, said that Mualem was scheduled to meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. /The New Anatolian/[08] ARMENIAN RESOLUTION SUBMITTED TO US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESA resolution calling for recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide was officially submitted yesterday to the US House of Representatives. The resolution, sponsored by two Democratic and two Republican congressmen, also has the support of some 140 members of the 435-seat House. It will soon be debated by the Foreign Affairs Committee, and if approved, it will proceed to the House floor. /Turkiye/FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... [09] WHAT DOES THE INTERIOR MINISTER SAY?BY YAVUZ DONAT (Sabah)Columnist Yavuz Donat comments on developments in the wake of the murder of Hrant Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian descent. A summary of his column is as follows: "A police informer said months ago that Dink would be murdered. But everyone tried to avoid doing anything about it. Who's guilty? Where was negligent? Yesterday I met with Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu and asked him what was happening. Here's what he told me: ‘We appointed two experienced, skilled inspectors to look into Dink's murder. They will also probe other related past events. They will look closely at things which happened in recent years. They're focusing on administrative and security shortcomings and weaknesses. They're handling all aspects of the issue. The two inspectors asked two things of us. They requested technical support. Inspectors from the gendarmerie as technical support were also needed. We sent this immediately. From now on research and technical work will be carried out simultaneously. I want information abut the whole investigation, not just part of it. All of the events will become clear after this investigation.' I asked Aksu about many people's belief that religious order and religious community structures in the Security Directorate, and he said this was out of the question. "This has been said for years, but it's not true," he stated. "We'll do what is necessary if there was negligence in the recent events." Than we asked him if the recent developments are concerned with May's presidential election and he answered, ‘I can't say … But this is a critical year … There are two important elections … There may be forces which want to create confusion in Turkey." We talked about a number of issues, including the safety of leaders and some other people, but it wouldn't be right to give details about this. But, we can say that Aksu told us that necessary safety measures are being taken." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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