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Turkish Press Review, 07-11-05Turkish 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 morning05.11.2007CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN, BUSH TO MEET AT THE WHITE HOUSEPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet today with US President George W. Bush at the White House. Erdogan and Bush are expected to discuss issues such as the fight against the terrorist PKK and recent developments in Iraq. Following the meeting, Turkish officials are expected to decide what steps to take to stop terrorist attacks coming from northern Iraq. Erdogan, accompanied by Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun, will also discuss bring up the Cyprus issue and the Armenian allegations concerning incidents of 1915. Later, the premier is scheduled to address the National Press Club. /Aksam/[02] FREED TURKISH SOLDIERS BACK IN TURKEYEight Turkish soldiers abducted by the terrorist PKK last month were released over the weekend and handed over to Iraqi authorities. On board the plane bringing the soldiers back to Turkey from Erbil, northern Iraq were Iraqi Defense Minister Abd al-Qadir Mohammed Jasim al-Obeidi and US Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the coalition forces. The soldiers were then taken to the southeastern province of Diyarbakir and are due back in Ankara soon. The General Staff said yesterday that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) welcomes the soldiers’ return. /Turkiye/[03] CEMIL CICEK: “ALL STATE BODIES ARE WORKING IN UNISON TO DEFEAT THE TERRORISTS”Asked yesterday about the release of eight Turkish soldiers abducted last month by the terrorist PKK, Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek said all Turkish state bodies are working decisively in unison to defeat terrorism using military, political and economic means. He stressed that these efforts would continue without any letup. /Star/[04] INTERIOR MINISTER ATALAY: “WE WANT THE US TO DEAL WITH IRAQ”Interior Minister Besir Atalay yesterday said that Ankara wants the US to live up to its responsibilities concerning Iraq. “Turkey has done very serious international political work befitting a great state,” he said. “We told the US secretary of state this (when she visited Ankara last week). Now this will be discussed at the highest level. Managing this with the US and the central Iraqi administration is inevitable.” /Aksam/[05] STATESMAN INONU LAID TO RESTElder statesman Erdal Inonu, who passed away in the United States last week, was laid to rest yesterday at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery in Istanbul. Hundreds of people brought flowers to his gravesite to pay their last respects, including many politicians. Inonu was a former deputy prime minister and the son of Turkey’s second president. /Turkiye/[06] CHP’S BAYKAL: “WE MUST PREVENT OUR SOLDIERS FROM EVER AGAIN BEING CAPTURED”Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said yesterday that while welcoming the release of eight Turkish soldiers by the terrorist PKK, steps to prevent a recurrence of the incident must be considered. “We have to think about how to prevent the same thing happening in the future,” he said. “We have to be deliberate and cautious. The fight against terrorism is Turkey’s main issue. Mistakes in this fight can have grave consequences. We can sometimes see this in the death toll of our soldiers or in kidnapped troops.” /Cumhuriyet/The United States welcomes the release of eight Turkish soldiers who were captured by the terrorist PKK last month, US State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said yesterday. “The eight Turkish soldiers were handed over to Iraqi officials, who then delivered them to US military personnel for transfer to Turkish authorities,” he said. “We applaud the efforts of the government of Iraq to secure the release of the hostages. We urge continued, deepened, and immediate cooperation between Iraq and Turkey in combating the PKK, which is a common enemy of Turkey, Iraq and the United States.” /Hurriyet/ FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... [07] DON’T TRUST THE SUN IN WINTER OR BUSH’S SMILEBY RAHMI TURAN (HURRIYET)Columnist Rahmi Turan comments today’s meeting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President George W. Bush in Washington. A summary of his column is as follows: “Turkey is going through dark, difficult days. The anger and hatred in our hearts grow worse every day. It’s tough going … It’s good to keep our calm, but … We’re like a clenched fist and poised bayonet after the deaths of so many soldiers… We have to avenge our soldiers to gird our spirit and prevent the deaths of any more. Parliament gave the government authorization to take a cross-border operation. But we’re still waiting. Waiting for what? Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet today with US President George W. Bush … For permission… In this world, the decisions of the powerful hold sway. But the powerless are always blamed! The focus of the Bush-Erdogan meeting actually won’t be on PKK terrorism… Erdogan is planning to bring up the issue … Bush, on the other hand, can’t stop thinking about Iran… To calm the public, Erdogan said last week, ‘We don’t need permission from anyone. We’ll do whatever is necessary to protect our nation’s security. I’ll speak with the Americans in clear, definite terms. I’ll tell them about the US weapons in the hands of PKK terrorists.’ But could Erdogan tell Bush this? ‘I’ll order a cross-border operation into northern Iraq. I’m not here to ask for your permission. I propose we do the operation together. If not, I’ll act alone.’ The situation is so bad that an operation is inevitable… What will Bush say to Erdogan? Bush’s main concern is to ask, ‘What will Turkey do when the US attacks Iran?’ and gets pledges from Turkey on this. He can say a few pleasing words about the PKK terrorism, but … You can’t trust the sun in the winter or Bush’s smile! The US is clever as a fox and has thousands of tricks. We should be very careful… It’s such naivete to fall for US’ double-faced, delaying tactics… How can the PKK get such accurate information on the operations of Turkish soldiers and lay traps for them? Or is the CIA playing role? Are the allegations that the CIA gives information to PKK terrorists true? With their satellites, they can even track the movement of insects. Could the US act with such hostility? Why not? The US always only cares about its own interests! Let’s not pay any more mind to what the US says. Let them think about what Turkey says. They also have great need of us. We have to know this and play our cards well. We’re not a US satellite and it’s time we show it. Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani laid down a challenge: ‘We can fight Turkey.’ If he didn’t depend on the US, how could he dare say that? Turkish-US relations are beset by errors. And the first one was like a domino, leading to even more… Things got this way back in March 2002, when our Parliament rejected a motion which would have let US troops deploy in Turkey for the imminent Iraq invasion. Then Former President Suleyman Demirel said, ‘Turkey shot itself in the foot. The US is vengeful, it won’t forget this.” And so it didn’t. Now Bush is telling us, ‘Heads I win, tails you lose!’ This is the situation in a nutshell.” Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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