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Turkish Press Review, 08-05-29Turkish 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 morning29.05.2008CONTENTS
[01] GUL SEEKS MORE INVESTMENT FROM JAPANPresident Abdullah Gul will be the first Turkish president to visit Japan when he, accompanied by his spouse, Cabinet ministers and businessmen, begins a five-day trip early next month to the Far Eastern country. Turkish officials hope the visit will further deepen the friendly ties between Turkey and Japan and pave the way for a closer cooperation in economy. The visit, scheduled for June 4-8, will include a meeting with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, who will host a luncheon for Gul and his spouse, Hayrunnisa. The Turkey-Japan Business Forum will also be held in Tokyo during Gul's visit, and the president will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. /Today's Zaman/[02] GUL RECEIVES OFFICIALS FROM TURKISH SPEAKING COUNTRIESPresident Abdullah Gul yesterday received a group of culture ministers, including Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay, and heads of delegations from Turkish speaking countries visiting Ankara as part of the 24th meeting of the Permanent Council of Joint Administration of Turkic Culture and Art (TURKSOY). In related news, former Kazakh Culture Minister Dusen Kaseinov was elected the president of TURKSOY. A final declaration released by the council stated that they agreed to make efforts to boost cooperation among the Turkic states. /Turkiye/[03] ERDOGAN: "MINISTERS MIGHT CHANGE FROM TIME TO TIME"Speaking in Osmaniye, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said that ministerial duty is a relay race and that there might be changes from time to time. Erdogan said, "We are Turkey's government," adding, "We don't discriminate between any citizen, village, district and city." He said, "Our understanding of policy isn't being locked up in Ankara," and added, "We are together with our citizens. There are people who want to continue old political traditions. There are politicians who don't change and visit east of Ankara or Sivas. There are people who remember the people only during election times." /Aksam-Star/[04] INTERIOR MINISTER ATALAY: "CHP'S ALLEGATIONS FOR BUGGING WILL BE INVESTIGATED"Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal claimed that his party's headquarters in Ankara was bugged by security forces, and tapped conversations were leaked to an Islamic daily, at a press conference yesterday. "Some illegal organizations nestled within state institutions are systematically employing technological means against certain citizens. It's obviously the government which controls these actions," Baykal said. In related news, Interior Minister Besir Atalay said that he ordered the governor to file a complaint and summoned prosecutors to investigate the claims. "We must shed light on this event, if the claims are true, it's a dire violation not only of law, but also of ethics," Atalay said. The allegations came true when a last week meeting between CHP's Secretary- General Onder Sav and former Bolu Governor Ali Serindag was published word by word in an Islamic daily. A public prosecutor launched an investigation into the CHP claims. /Turkiye/[05] BABACAN: "TURKEY HAS ALREADY STRENGHTENED STRATEGIC DEEPNESS OF EU"Addressing members of the European Union Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee, Foreign Minister and Chief Negotiator Ali Babacan yesterday said, "Turkey is making efforts for peace, prosperity and stability in its region" and stressed, "Although Turkey currently isn't a full member of the EU, it highly contributes to the Union's foreign policy goals and it has already strengthened the Union's strategic deepness." Babacan reiterated that Turkey only targeted the terrorist PKK bases during its recent cross- border operations in northern Iraq and added that the issue should be seen only as an issue of terrorism and terrorist organizations. Babacan also warned the committee members not to fall for propaganda of the terrorist organization that it represents Kurds and said that the Iraqi central government also shared the same view with Turkey on that issue. Asked about religious freedoms in Turkey, Babacan said, "Turkey's definition of secularism is very clear: Exact separation between state affairs and religion. The state remains at an equal distance from all beliefs and doesn't interfere with individuals' fulfilling requirements of their beliefs. Both the devout people from different religions and those who don't have any religious belief should benefit from the atmosphere of liberty." Asked about his expectations for the outcome of the case seeking the closure of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Babacan said, "In a country on the way to the EU full membership, I believe that the judiciary will give its decision on the case in line with the Copenhagen political criteria and the principles of Venice Commission." /Hurriyet- Cumhuriyet/[06] COUNCIL OF STATE ELECTS NEW PRESIDENTMustafa Birden was elected the new president of the top administrative court of Turkey --Council of State, yesterday. Birden was elected with the votes of 50 court members.Sumru Cortoglu, the chairperson of Turkey's Council of State, retired due to the age limit on May 13. Birden, married with 2 children, was elected as administrative court member in 1994 and president of the 2nd Chamber in 2002. He was injured in the attack to the Council of State building on May 17th, 2006, in which Mustafa Yucel Ozbilgin, member of the 2nd chamber was killed. Speaking to reporters following its election, Birden said that principles and revolutions of great leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic, will be the sole directory of their duties. /Hurriyet/ [07] GREEK CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF VISITS PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEOSGreek Chief of General Staff Gen. Dimitrios Grapsas yesterday visited Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomeos during an official visit to Turkey upon the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Yasar Buyukanıt. Bartholomeos congratulated Grapsas for cooperation with Turkey at the gathering which lasted for nearly 40 minutes. "As the Orthodox Church, we are exerting efforts in line with this aim, " Bartholomeos added, "We hope Turkish and Greek armed forces would always work in peace." /Sabah/[08] SYRIAN, ISRAELI DELEGATIONS TO HOLD TALKS NEXT WEEK IN ISTANBULSyrian and Israeli delegations, which started indirect peace talks last week for the first time after eight years through Turkey's mediation, are set to be held talks next week in Istanbul. It is expected that delegations, agreed on subjects to be discussed at the gathering, will hold direct talks in their second meeting, which will also be held through mediation of former Ambassador and a deputy counselor from foreign ministry Feridun Sinirlioglu and Ahmet Davutoglu, chief adviser of Prime Minister. Syrian Riyad Davudi and Israeli Shalom Turgeman and Yoram Turbowicz will head their delegations as before. Israel's withdrawal from Golan Heights, measures to be taken on security, trade relations between two countries will be on agenda at the gathering. /Sabah/FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… [09] BROTHERSHIP PROJECTBY HASAN CELAL GUZEL (RADIKAL)Columnist Hasan Celal Guzel comments on the Southeastern Emergency Action Plan which aims to improve the economic and social situation in the Southeast Anatolian Region in Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows: "Kurds are our own full brothers and sisters with whom we have been living together for a thousand of years and sharing the same cultural heritage. Actually, while saying that Kurds are our full brothers and sisters, even the emphasis on the word 'our' evokes discrimination between 'we and them' and this situation disturbs me, because there's no discrimination between us. But an extremely saddening picture emerged in the Southeast Anatolian region, where Kurds intensely live, and the region remained undeveloped due to its physical conditions and the economic and social devastation caused by the separatist terrorism. This situation also causes separatist terrorists' exploitation. All governments of the Turkish Republic have always tried to do their best to improve the economic and social situation in the Southeast Anatolian Region. Particularly efforts exerted by former presidents Suleyman Demirel and Turgut Ozal can't be denied. But the 'Southeastern Emergency Action Plan,' announced by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Diyarbakir, is the most important project of the last quarter of the century. As Erdogan said, this region won't be an area of exploitation for terrorists anymore, thanks to this 'brotherhood and social restoration project of the century.' As a result of the investment totaling YTL 14.5 billion in 5-year periods by the year 2012, the area of irrigation fields will be increased by six folds to reach 1.8 million hectares, four million people will be provided with additional employment, the income per capita will increase by three folds and social indicators will be improved. The project will cost a total of YTL 27 billion. This project isn't an ordinary aid package, but a serious move to improve the Southeast Anatolian Region. In addition, its social aspect is exceptionally important, particularly in terms of economy. Following points are important in the implementation of the Brotherhood Project: 1. Erdogan hasn't ignored the country's safety with slogans of democratic and peaceful solution and he was also able to take necessary security measures by carrying out a cross-border operation, when necessary. 2. The government hasn't made a concession from the unitarian state, despite certain domestic and foreign pressures and Erdogan hasn't given up its slogan of a single nation, a single country, a single state and a single flag. 3. A substantial amount of money was invested for the Southeast Anatolian Emergency Action Plan. 4. The Brotherhood Project is firstly the movement of protecting the people living in the region. 5. Interestingly, such a serious move is carried out by a ruling party that is wanted to be closed by the judiciary action. This project only disturbed focuses of the separatist terrorism and their political representatives. If those who want to close the Justice and Development Party (AKP) are really patriots, they should reevaluate this picture. I sincerely congratulate Erdogan and the government for initiating the Southeastern Emergency Action Plan." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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