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Turkish Press Review, 08-07-04Turkish 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 morning04.07.2008CONTENTS
[01] GUL TO TRAVEL TO KAZAKHSTAN TODAYPresident Abdullah Gul will travel to Kazakhstan today to attend the 10th anniversary of Astana becoming the country's capital. His Russian, Georgian and Azeri counterparts will also attend the celebrations. Gul, the guest of honor of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, is also expected to hold bilateral meetings during the trip. /Turkiye/[02] CICEK DELIVERS AKP'S ORAL DEFENSEDeputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek yesterday delivered a six-hour plus oral defense in the closure case against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Bekir Bozdag, the AKP's parliamentary group deputy head, was also present at the Constitutional Court hearing. "I gave our defense on the case seeking closure of the party," Cicek said. "We argued that the charges against the AKP were not credible, accurate or legal and should never have been filed in the first place." Saying that the defense rested on Constitutional Court precedent, human rights law, and Turkish law, he added that now everyone must wait for the court's decision. "The AKP is the ruling party," he said. "Explaining the problems a delay in the ruling would cause, we asked that the case be concluded as soon as possible." /Star/[03] BAYKAL CALLS ERGENEKON PROBE "POLITICAL SHOWDOWN"Commenting on the ongoing Ergenekon probe and controversial detentions under it made this week, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said yesterday that the Ergenekon probe was not a normal investigative process but rather a "political showdown" which is sowing division and tension in Turkish politics, justice and society. Speaking at a CHP meeting in Ankara, he said the public has suspicions about the operation's true purpose, adding that it has political aims. "One after the other, distinguished people from various walks of society known to oppose the government have been detained," he observed. The opposition leader said he hoped the courts would reject all the probe's allegations. "Turkey will face a very important test," he added. Also speaking about this week's Socialist International meeting, which the CHP decided not to attend, Baykal said his party would decide whether or not to stay in the group. The CHP had faced criticisms from some SI members over the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in Turkey. /Sabah/[04] BAHCELI DECRIES "SMEAR CAMPAIGN" AGAINST ARMED FORCESThe failure to mount a defense to counter a psychological smear campaign against the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) demonstrates an administrative weakness, said Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday. In a written statement, Bahceli said that the TSK is already busy fighting terrorism under difficult conditions, and called on President Abdullah Gul to "do his duty." Touching on this week's controversial detentions as part of Ergenekon probe, Bahceli said they have had wide societal repercussions, and that everyone deserves justice under the law. "This way of detaining people whose places and positions are clear is controversial, along with the way it's being depicted in the press in the absence of any indictments," he added. /Aksam/[05] AKP SLAMS BAYKAL'S CLAIMS ON ERGENEKON PROBESpeaking to reporters yesterday, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy leader Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat criticized comments by main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal about the ongoing Ergenekon probe. "Baykal claims that the recent Ergenekon detainees were taken into custody due to their opposition to the government. This is absolutely false and doesn't reflect reality," said Firat. "They were detained by security forces due to serious accusations such as establishing an illegal network to overthrow the government and plotting provocations to destabilize Turkey to reach their illegal goals. The probe was started by the independent judiciary and is ongoing. Politics plays no role in the probe." /Sabah/[06] DEPUTY CHIEF JUSTICE: "THE AKP CLOSURE CASE MAY CONCLUDE WITHIN WEEKS"The closure case against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) may conclude within three to six weeks, said Constitutional Court Deputy Chief Justice Osman Paksut yesterday. Speaking to reporters, Paksut said that after preparation of the rapporteur's report on the AKP's oral defense, the top court's members will begin reviewing the case. Despite the case's complexity, the court will try to complete its work as soon as possible, he added. /Hurriyet/[07] WHITE HOUSE: "PRESIDENT BUSH WANTS TO MAKE SURE THAT DEMOCRACY IN TURKEY IS FIRM"US President George W. Bush supports Turkey, and wants to make sure its democracy is firm, said White House spokesperson Dana Perino yesterday. Asked at a daily press briefing whether Bush is concerned about democracy in Turkey, she said, "I think you've heard the president say he's a strong supporter of Turkey. He supported them for EU accession, but he wants to make sure that democracy is firm in that country." Asked whether there had been communication between Bush and President Abdullah Gul or Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Perino said, "No, recently I don't think there's been anything." /Milliyet/[08] US INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATEDThe United States' Independence Day, officially falling on today, July 4, was celebrated with a reception at US Ambassador to Ankara Ross Wilson's residence yesterday with the attendance of many statesmen, diplomats, high- level officials and other guests. Foreign Minister Ali Babacan represented the Turkish government at the reception. Addressing the gathering, Babacan said, "Turkey and the US enjoy a long-lasting friendship and alliance. The friendly relationship between our two countries has successfully passed some key tests, and is based on shared values such as democracy, the rule of law, and human rights." He said that both Turkey and the US are working to spread those values. Babacan also stressed that cooperation between the two countries is important for establishing peace and stability both worldwide and in Turkey's region. He added that Turkey and the US are cooperating to fight the threats of the 21st century. For his part, Wilson also stressed the deep-rooted and strong relations between the two countries, saying, "Sharing common ideals, the US and Turkey are looking to the future with confidence." In one of the surprises of the evening, asked by reporters why he was attending the reception for the first time in many years, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said, "The US government took a clear stance against the terrorist PKK and gave strong support to Turkey's ground operation into northern Iraq." /Sabah-Turkiye/[09] EP SOCIALISTS: "WE'RE DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT DEVELOPMENTS IN TURKEY"Jan Marinus Wiersma and Hannes Swoboda, vice chairs of the EP's second- biggest group, the Socialists, yesterday stated that they were deeply concerned about the recent detention of journalists in Turkey under the ongoing Ergenekon probe, urging Turkish authorities to abide by the principles of freedom of speech. They added that they expected prosecutors and the judiciary to treat the matter impartially based on concrete evidence. Wiersma and Swobada also stressed the importance of Turkey strengthening its democracy and continuing its reform process to fulfill the Copenhagen political criteria. "European Union candidate Turkey should strengthen its democratic, secular state," said Wiersma. "There's no place for either the army or religion in politics." /Cumhuriyet/[10] US JOINT CHIEFS VICE CHAIRMAN VISITS TURKEYUS Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Gen. James Cartwright yesterday paid a surprise visit to Ankara. Cartwright, responsible for providing coordinating intelligence-sharing between the two countries in the fight against the terrorist PKK, visited General Staff headquarters and met with Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun. During their meeting, issues such as cooperation against the PKK and security problems in Iraq were reportedly discussed. /Milliyet/[11] CHP APPOINTS KADER SEVINC TO BRUSSELS BUREAUMain opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has appointed Kader Sevinc, a European Union expert and advisor to European Parliament member Vural Oger, to head the party's future office in Brussels. Sevinc told reporters that CHP should play a role in the future of the EU, adding, "We'll work to develop CHP-EU relations." /Hurriyet/[12] GARANTI NAMED TURKEY'S BEST BANKTurkey's Garanti Bankasi has been named Turkey's Best Bank by Euromoney Magazine. Garanti got the Euromoney Award for Excellence for the ninth time. "Our growth and service performance were appreciated not only by our customers but also by Euromoney," said Ergun Ozen, Garanti's CEO. "We continued our sound growth during a time of global fluctuation. We had a very good performance in the first half of 2008." Garanti Bank, established as a privately owned commercial bank in Ankara in 1946, provides retail, commercial, corporate and private banking services to over 6.2 million customers.FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… [13] ERGENEKON INDICTMENT SHOULD BE MADE PUBLIC AS SOON AS POSSIBLEBY MEHMET YILMAZ (HURRIYET)"The mission of the Ergenekon gang was defined as 'activities paving the way for a military coup and legitimizing that coup.' Hand grenades discovered in Istanbul's Umraniye district, last year's bombings of Cumhuriyet daily offices, the assassination of Hrant Dink, the armed attack on the Council of State, and the mass republican rallies are examples of such activities. Also plotted were the assassination of Nobel prize winner Orhan Pamuk as well as journalists and other prominent figures. We don't know how much of this information is correct, as the prosecutors have yet to release an indictment. So we can't know the links between the detainees and people sought by the police with this gang and all of these crimes. I assume that all of these allegations will be supported by solid evidence in the indictment of the case, which had deeply divided the nation. If the allegations and connections to these events are based on nothing but phone taps, which can be interpreted in many ways, and conspiracy theories, then we can say in advance that the people who see the shadowy hand of politics in this investigation wıll turn out to be right. If the prosecutor releases an indictment as soon as possible, that would dispel all misinformation surrounding it. And of course it should not fail to address the question of who the gang would incite to carry out the coup." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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