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Turkish Press Review, 07-09-03
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
03.09.2007
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
CONTENTS
[01] PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE GOVERNMENT’S PROGRAM TODAY
[02] AKP NAMES NEW FIGURES FOR PARTY ADMINISTRATION
[03] RULING PARTY TO FINISH WORK ON NEW CONSTITUTION
[04] VOTING ON REFERENDUM TO BEGIN NEXT WEEK AT BORDER GATES
[05] CHP PLANS MEETING AT ANITKABIR TO MARK PARTY’S 84TH ANNIVERSARY
[06] GREEK PM: “ERDOGAN IS DETERMINED ON TURKEY’S EU BID”
[07] TRNC’S TALAT: “THE GREEK CYPRIOTS WANT TO RULE CYPRUS”
[08] BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY TO VISIT ANKARA NEXT WEEK
[09] CIVIL SERVANTS' PAY RAISE TO BE TAKEN UP BY ARBITRATION BOARD
[10] A FIRST CIVILLIAN CONSTITUTION
[01] PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE GOVERNMENT’S PROGRAM TODAY
Parliament today will begin debate of the program of the Justice and
Development Party government, as unveiled by Premier Recep Tayip Erdogan on
Friday. On behalf of the ruling party, AKP group deputy leaders Nurettin
Canikli and Nihat Ergun are expected to address the deputies. Main
opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) group deputy leader Kemal
Kilicdaroglu and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli
will express their parties’ views and criticisms of the program.
Democratic Society Party (DTP) group leader Ahmet Turk is expected to speak
during the debates, while Tunceli independent Deputy Kamer Genc will also
take the Parliament floor to express his views. Erdogan is expected to
respond to the criticisms of opposition lawmakers. The session will end
when the debates are concluded. Then, on Wednesday, the government will
face a vote of confidence. /Sabah/
[02] AKP NAMES NEW FIGURES FOR PARTY ADMINISTRATION
The ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Central Executive Board
(MYK), headed by Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, convened yesterday. During
the nearly five-hour meeting, Egemen Bagis and Haluk Ipek were appointed
the party’s new deputy chairmen, succeeding Hayati Yazici and Nazim Ekren,
who have taken places in the new Cabinet. In addition, candidates for
parliamentary commissions were discussed at the gathering. /Milliyet/
[03] RULING PARTY TO FINISH WORK ON NEW CONSTITUTION
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is set today to complete its
work on a new draft Constitution. The commission, after examining a 139-
article draft prepared by a group of Bilkent University scholars led by
Ergun Ozbudun, will hold its final meeting at party headquarters in Ankara
this morning. The draft is expected to be opened to public discussion in
October and November. The AKP is planning to present the draft Constitution
to Parliament for approval early next year. /Turkiye/
[04] VOTING ON REFERENDUM TO BEGIN NEXT WEEK AT BORDER GATES
A referendum on a package of Constitutional changes, including popular
election of the president, will get its first votes on next Tuesday at
Turkey’s border gates. The main referendum will be held on Oct. 21.
/Aksam/
[05] CHP PLANS MEETING AT ANITKABIR TO MARK PARTY’S 84TH ANNIVERSARY
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Secretary General Onder
Sav yesterday called on CHP members to meet at Anitkabir, Ataturk’s
mausoleum, on Sept. 9 to mark the party’s 84th anniversary. “This year
we’ll celebrate the CHP’s anniversary with all parliamentarians and
former and current deputies and members,” said a statement released by
the party. In related news, Mustafa Sarigul, the mayor of Istanbul’s
Sisli district and a dissident CHP member, yesterday charged that the party
had moved away from its social democratic roots and offended the people of
southeastern Turkey through stressing vulgar nationalism. Speaking in the
southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Sarigul said that CHP leader Deniz Baykal
was harming both the party and Turkey, and called on him to resign.
/Milliyet-Cumhuriyet/
[06] GREEK PM: “ERDOGAN IS DETERMINED ON TURKEY’S EU BID”
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is determined to push Turkey’s
European Union admission, Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said over
the weekend. Asked by Greek daily Kathimerini about Erdogan’s EU
aspirations, Karamanlis said, “Actions are more important than promises
and intensions. Despite our different views, there’s a determined
politician facing us. There hasn’t been such a thing in years.” Stating
that the atmosphere of Turkish-Greek relations was good, Karamanlis added
that there had been no recent developments regarding problems between the
countries. /Hurriyet/
[07] TRNC’S TALAT: “THE GREEK CYPRIOTS WANT TO RULE CYPRUS”
The Greek Cypriot administration’s idea of “solving” the Cyprus issue
is to absorb the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) into itself,
said TRNC President Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday. “What is required in
Cyprus is an infrastructure where peace can take shape,” he told a
conference in Bergama, Izmir. “The Greek Cypriots want to rule Cyprus. We
have to find an administrative system which will solve our problems through
(reaching) an agreement. Those who will do this are politicians. If there
was an agreement, then we could bring people together. When Greek Cypriot
administration leader Tassos Papadopoulos spoke at the UN General Assembly
about solving the Cyprus problem, he stated that Cyprus should unite
through osmosis. This means the weaker side joining the strong mass. The
Greek Cypriots’ solution is to assimilate Northern Cyprus to southern
Cyprus.” /Cumhuriyet/
[08] BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY TO VISIT ANKARA NEXT WEEK
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband is set to visit Ankara next week.
During his three-day visit, Miliband is expected to meet with President
Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ali
Babacan to discuss bilateral relations, Turkey’s European Union
membership process, and the Cyrus and Iraq issues, as well as other
regional and international developments. /Turkiye/
[09] CIVIL SERVANTS' PAY RAISE TO BE TAKEN UP BY ARBITRATION BOARD
Following disagreement between representatives of the government and civil
servants’ unions during collective bargaining over next year’s salaries,
the issue will be taken up by an Arbitration Board. The board, formed by
four scholars chaired by the president of the Higher Arbitration Board,
will prepare a report on the matter in five days. If the sides come to an
agreement on the board’s decision, they will sign a memorandum of
understanding. Otherwise, the final decision will be made by the Cabinet.
/Turkiye/
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[10] A FIRST CIVILLIAN CONSTITUTION
BY OKAY GONENSIN (VATAN)
Columnist Okay Gonensin comments on the new draft constitution commissioned
by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). A summary of his column
is as follows:
“The 1982 Constitution, which is currently in force, is our narrowest
constitution, despite all the touching up it has undergone. Its logic is
based on erecting measures to prevent civilians from making a mess and
stirring up a crisis. It’s a product of the idea that civilians may bring
the country to the verge of breaking up. The logic of our original 1921
Constitution was forming a legal basis for fighting the War of
Independence. Our 1924 Constitution laid the foundation for a newborn
republic. The 1961, 1972 and 1982 Constitutions were prepared after coups,
under undemocratic conditions. Although the 1961 and 1982 Constitutions are
opposed to each other, they were submitted to public referendums and both
were approved. When the 1961 Constitution was approved there was military
rule, and when the 1981 Constitution was approved not only was there
military rule but expressing contrary views was expressly forbidden. After
these experiments, many have said that a constitution is needed which
protects the people, safeguards their human rights, and lays the
foundations for its legal and democratic basis. When he was at his
strongest, the late Turgut Ozal didn’t take up the issue. It came up in
the Suleyman Demirel-Erdal Inonu coalition but was later forgotten.
It’s high time that Turkey had a real constitution. ‘Real’ here means
the protection of the people. A lot of different claims have been made in
recent days about the new draft constitution the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) asked a group of academics to draw up. Those who
believe some sections of that draft constitution may take the country to
Islamic rule started to issue warnings even before the text becomes public.
This is normal and will continue under the AKP’s second term. Whether
these voices will grow louder or become unheard will depend on the actions
of the AKP, one of which is the preparation of the first civilian
constitution since Turkey’s evolution to multi-party democracy. The level
of discussions and the size of contributions will determine the civilian
nature of the draft constitution. Everyone who follows or takes part in the
in the discussions should know that this is a historic opportunity. The
draft constitution is the first big test of not only the AKP but also new
President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In order
for them to pass it, the draft constitution should be discussed in a
healthy way, free of prejudice.”
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