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Turkish Press Review, 07-02-06
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
06.02.2007
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER, ARINC, AND ERDOGAN ISSUE MESSAGES HONORING SECULARISM
[02] PAKISTANI PRESIDENT MUSHARRAF VISITS TURKEY
[03] IN WASHINGTON, GUL MEETS WITH CHENEY
[04] SENER: "THE GOVT IS CLOSELY FOLLOWING TURKEY'S EU PROCESS"
[05] BABACAN: "RATHER THAN RETREAT INTO THE PAST, TURKEY MUST ADAPT TO TODAY'S WORLD"
[06] IN WESTERN THRACE, BAKOYANNIS PLEDGES "NEW PAGE" IN HOW GREECE TREATS ITS MINORITIES
[07] WILSON MEETS WITH BAHCELI TO GAUGE MHP VIEWS ON NATIONALISM
[08] ISRAELI PM OLMERT TO VISIT ANKARA
[09] IHSANOGLU MEETS WITH EGYPT'S MUBARAK
[10] AZERBAIJAN'S DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS WITH BUYUKANIT
[11] RALSTON AGAIN!
[01] SEZER, ARINC, AND ERDOGAN ISSUE MESSAGES HONORING SECULARISM
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc, and Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday all issued messages marking the
70th anniversary of the inclusion of the principle of secularism in the
Constitution. In his message, Sezer said that it was improper to try and
redefine secularism when Constitutional Court decisions and the
Constitution itself have clearly defined the concept. Sezer stressed that
secularism was the foundation of modernism, and acted as a safeguard for
all freedoms. Arinc, in his statement, said that secularism provided people
with freedom of religion. In his message, Erdogan said that it was
everyone's duty to protect the concept of secularism. /Cumhuriyet/
[02] PAKISTANI PRESIDENT MUSHARRAF VISITS TURKEY
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf yesterday arrived in Ankara for a two-
day working visit. After meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer hosted a dinner in honor of Musharraf and his wife. The
Pakistani president is expected to exchange views with Turkish officials on
the Mideast issue and efforts to end the violence in the region. /Hurriyet/
[03] IN WASHINGTON, GUL MEETS WITH CHENEY
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday began his contacts in Washington.
First Gul met with Vice President Dick Cheney and then held talks with
National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley. Gul reportedly conveyed Ankara's
concerns over an Armenian resolution possibly reaching the floor of the
House of Representatives, warning that should the measure pass, relations
between the two allies could be seriously damaged. He also stated that
Turkey has had enough of the terrorist PKK and expressed Ankara's
impatience on the issue, urging US officials to take concrete steps, and
soon. Furthermore, he touched on the Kirkuk issue, adding that Ankara
favors the preservation of Iraq's territorial integrity. As part of his
contacts, Gul today is expected to meet with his counterpart Condoleezza
Rice at a noontime luncheon. Tomorrow the foreign minister is scheduled to
have talks with congressmen from the House of Representatives to seek
support to prevent the Armenian resolution from reaching the House floor.
In addition, Gul will address during a gathering of the German Marshall
Fund think-tank. After completing his contacts in Washington, Gul will
proceed to New York. /Turkiye/
[04] SENER: "THE GOVT IS CLOSELY FOLLOWING TURKEY'S EU PROCESS"
State Minister Abdullatif Sener said yesterday that the government was
closely following developments in Turkey's European Union membership
process. Speaking to reporters after a Cabinet meeting, Sener said that
Economy Minister and chief negotiator for EU talks Ali Babacan had briefed
the government ministers on recent developments in the EU process. Asked
about Turkish Penal Code (TCK) Article 301, Sener said that similar laws
have long existed in Western countries, but no action had been taken and
nobody has been punished, adding that through a new understanding and
modern interpretation the issue could be resolved. /Turkiye/
[05] BABACAN: "RATHER THAN RETREAT INTO THE PAST, TURKEY MUST ADAPT TO
TODAY'S WORLD"
State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan yesterday attended a meeting of
the Investment Climate Improvement Coordination Committee (YOIKK) held at
the Treasury Undersecretariat. Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities
Exchanges (TOBB) Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu and Turkish Exporters'
Assembly (TIM) Chairman Oguz Satici were also present. Addressing the
gathering, Babacan rebuffed claims that a recently passed oil law would put
the country's resources in the hands of foreigners, calling such charges
inaccurate. He further stated that Turkey should adapt itself to the world
as it is instead of trying to retreat into the past. Stressing that Turkey
paid $29 billion to import energy last year and that it was dependent on
foreign countries, Babacan added that he didn't believe that energy
investments could be made through public resources alone. Babacan also
stated that the method and timing of the privatization of Halkbank would be
decided after current conditions are evaluated. /Milliyet/
[06] IN WESTERN THRACE, BAKOYANNIS PLEDGES "NEW PAGE" IN HOW GREECE TREATS
ITS MINORITIES
Visiting Turkish villages in Greece's Western Thrace region yesterday,
Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis pledged that Athens would solve all
of the problems of Greece's minorities. Speaking at the Gumulcine Chamber
of Commerce, Bakoyannis stated that Greece was determined to turn a new
page in its relations with minorities, adding that the government would do
work on a number of issues such as education, development, funds, and
citizenship. /Sabah/
[07] WILSON MEETS WITH BAHCELI TO GAUGE MHP VIEWS ON NATIONALISM
US Ambassador Ross Wilson yesterday visited opposition Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli to discuss a number of issues. During
their meeting, Wilson asked Bahceli his views about nationalism, and
Bahceli told the ambassador about his own and his party's views on the
issue. Bahceli stressed that Turkish nationalism isn't based on racism,
adding that his party accepts as Turkish anyone who is a Turkish citizen.
/Sabah/
[08] ISRAELI PM OLMERT TO VISIT ANKARA
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is due to arrive in Ankara next Thursday
to pay an official visit. During his short stay in Ankara, Olmert is
expected to meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss a
number of issues, including last month's murder of Hrant Dink, a Turkish
journalist of Armenian descent. Olmert is expected to express support for
Turkey in its relations with Armenia following the killing. The two
premiers are also expected to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
This will be Olmert's first visit to Turkey as prime minister. /Hurriyet/
[09] IHSANOGLU MEETS WITH EGYPT'S MUBARAK
Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin
Ihsanoglu, on a visit to Egypt, yesterday met with Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak. Speaking afterwards, Turkish scholar Ihsanoglu said that they had
discussed the problems of Islamic countries and that their meeting had been
very fruitful. /Sabah/
[10] AZERBAIJAN'S DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS WITH BUYUKANIT
Azerbaijani Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Sefer Abiyev, paying an official
visit to Turkey, yesterday met with Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar
Buyukanit. The two top commanders reportedly discussed bilateral and
regional issues. /Hurriyet/
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[11] RALSTON AGAIN!
BY HUSNU MAHALLI (AKSAM)
Columnist Husnu Mahalli comments on US Special Envoy for countering
terrorism Joseph Ralston and his recent visit to Ankara. A summary of his
column is as follows:
"US Special Envoy for countering terrorism Joseph Ralston came to Ankara
again. What's more, he came not from Baghdad, but from Erbil, that is, the
capital of the Kurdistan Federated Region. However, we were told that
Ralston was supposed to work to coordinate between Washington, Baghdad and
Ankara. Even Shirvan Vaili got his marching orders from the Iraqi
government. Just like Ralston, he was appointed special envoy for
countering terrorism. But Ralston and Turkey's Special Envoy Edip Baser
couldn't meet with Vaili. Instead, during his latest visit to Erbil,
Ralston met with Kerim Sincari, who was appointed by the Kurdish regional
government. In other words, Ralston is discussing the PKK issue directly
with Kurds. When Ralston was in Erbil, I keep an eye on the Kurdish TV
channels, newspapers and websites. According to all of them, Ralston is the
American coordinator on the ‘PKK and Kurds in Turkey.' According to these
reports, Ralston and Barzani agree that the PKK and the Kurdish issue
should be solved only through dialogue and peaceful methods. In other words,
Turkey should sit at the table with the terrorist PKK and solve its own
Kurdish issue. We don't know whom Ralston met with or how he met with them
in Erbil, but everybody knows that Americans have close relations with PKK
members in Kandil. In sum, neither Washington nor Ralston want to solve the
PKK issue right now.
According to Washington, the PKK issue can be solved only with one
condition: if the Justice and Development (AKP) government accepts all the
regional designs of the US. Maybe the Americans won't come out and say this,
but probably they will give certain signs to Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
and the chief of General Staff to this effect. Meanwhile, representatives
of Jewish lobbies can be more frank, because they have the trump card of
blocking the so-called Armenian genocide resolution at the US Congress, and
now it's time to use this. What's more, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
will come to Ankara this month and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is
preparing to visit Israel. However, the same Israel has always rejected
Erdogan's offers to help broker peace between Israel, Palestine, Syria and
Lebanon and tried hard to prevent Turkey taking a regional role. However,
the same Turkey brought together Israel and Pakistan in the summer of 2005
in Istanbul and tried to make peace between these two countries, which have
no diplomatic relations with each other. Today Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf will tell Erdogan in Ankara that we should contribute to the
solution of these regional problems, mostly the Palestine and Iraq issues.
In additionright now Musharraf doesn't have very good relations with the US,
and Afghan President Hamid Kharzai is constantly accusing Pakistan of
interfering in his country's domestic affairs and supporting the Taliban.
However, both Kharzai and Musharraf came to power with US support. In other
words, leaders whose common denominator is their serving the US sometimes
can't reach an agreement between themselves and can even be on opposite
sides militarily. This column started with Ralston and now has reached
Kashmir. So Americans will put very complicated demands to Turkey as well
as other countries in the region and the Iraqi Kurds in order to solve the
PKK issue. The important thing is to muddle people's minds and prevent them
from thinking soundly; in other words, to sow confusion and capitalize on
it."
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