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Wednesday, 18 December 2024
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Turkish Press Review, 09-01-07Turkish 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 morning07.01.2009FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] KOSOVAR PARLIAMENT SPEAKER MEETS WITH GUL, ERDOGANPresident Abdullah Gul yesterday received Kosovar Parliament Speaker Jakup Krasniqi and an accompanying delegation. Before meeting with Gul, Krasniqi also met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at Parliament. /Cumhuriyet/[02] AT AKP GROUP MEETING, ERDOGAN LAMBASTES ISRAELSpeaking at his ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) group meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan strongly criticized Israel's ongoing military operation in Gaza. "I am not emotional," said Erdogan, rebuffing Israel's statement that he was speaking emotionally. "I am speaking as a grandson of Ottoman Empire, which welcomed your forebears when they were exiled from their country. I am calling on Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to set aside the coming elections in February. History will accuse them of putting a stain on humanity." Erdogan said that Turkey has always stood on the side of those who suffer and will continue to do so. "It is unforgivable that a people who in their history suffered so profoundly could do such a thing," he added. "In fact, they should show more respect for human life than anyone in the world. They should know well that the lives of children, women and the elderly are sacred and that justice, law and the culture of coexistence are vital." /Milliyet/[03] PM'S CHIEF ADVISOR: "GAZA FACES A HUMANITARIAN DISASTER"Ahmet Davutoglu, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's chief foreign policy adviser, yesterday went to Damascus to hold talks at the request of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Among those at the meeting were Syrian President Bashar Assad and EU foreign policy Chief Javier Solana. Afterwards, Davutoglu said that Turkey's and Syria's stances on Israel's attacks in the Gaza Strip were discussed at the gathering. Stating that Turkey remains in contact with all parties and is evaluating all proposals, he added, "Turkey's stance on the Gaza problem is quite clear. What has been happening in Gaza is nothing less than a humanitarian disaster. Turkey's most important push is to prevent more bloodshed. Turkey is trying to put an immediate end to the bloodshed in Gaza by keeping channels with all parties open. Since the beginning of the crisis, Turkish officials have held talks with their counterparts in the region to push for an immediate cease-fire and to forge a consensus among Palestinian groups." /Star/[04] BAHCELI LAMBASTES THE WEST, ARAB WORLDThe structure of the Turkish nation-state has been harmed through TRT 6, the first Kurdish-language channel of the state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), said Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday. Speaking to his party's group meeting, Bahceli also said that language is a basic pillar for creating a separate national identity. Touching on Israel's attacks in Gaza, he lambasted both the West and the Arab world, saying, "Not only the West, which tolerated Israel's offensive as self-defense, but also the Arab world also failed here." /Aksam/[05] BAYKAL: "ISRAEL WON'T FIND PEACE THROUGH DESTRUCTION"Speaking at his party's parliamentary group meeting yesterday, main opposition Republican People Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said that Israel's airstrikes and ground operation in the Gaza Strip would not bring peace to the Middle East. Calling the situation in Gaza one of the darkest and most shameful pages of human history, Baykal said any toleration of this is disgraceful. "It seems there is a secret consensus on Israel's attacks," Baykal said, implying this is behind a muted international reaction to the situation. He said the attacks would not make Israel safer or put its people at ease. Baykal also said that an immediate cease-fire is required by humanity, not politics. /Turkiye/[06] NEW INTERIOR MINISTRY UNIT SET TO FIGHT PKK TERRORISMThe Interior Ministry has formed a new unit to coordinate anti-terrorist efforts, said Interior Minister Besir Atalay yesterday. Stating that the unit will be structured as a Security Undersecretariat to strengthen coordination in the fight against terrorism, he added, "This new unit has no operational mission, but it will do research and analysis." /Star/An International Monetary Fund delegation will begin talks in Ankara tomorrow about a new standby deal. The IMF team, led by the Fund's new Turkey desk chief Rachel van Elkan, will hold meetings with State Minister for the Economy Mehmet Simsek and other senior economic officials. Later the team is expected to head to Istanbul to meet with businesspeople and banking representatives to discuss the real sector's financing needs. The team will stay in Turkey until the end of January, and talks with the IMF are expected to resume next month. A new loan deal between Turkey and the IMF is likely to be approved by the Fund in March. Commenting on the talks, Simsek said that the new agreement would go beyond ordinary IMF deals. The cut in public expenditures initially proposed by the IMF was more than three times the cut now on the table, he explained. Simsek also said that the size of the IMF loan under the new agreement would be big enough to dispel domestic markets' financial concerns over the global economic crisis. /Sabah/ FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS [07] ISRAEL AND HAMASBY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on Israel's attacks in Gaza. A summary of his column is as follows: "Israel calls Hamas, which came to power through elections, a terrorist organization. Hamas is being directed from the outside by their leader in Damascus. But Syria is openly getting much support and orders from Iran. Meanwhile, the US, which brands Iran and Syria rogue states, also calls Hamas a terrorist group. Washington hadn't expected Hamas to win the Palestinian elections it had pushed for. When it did, the US wanted Hamas to cut off its relations with Syria, and especially with Iran. But Hamas, recognizing that it needs their backing, refused to do this. Israel will stop its attacks when it cripples Hamas enough that it can't launch new attacks for some time. In addition, Israel wants to end Palestinians' support for the group, but it's quite doubtful the Palestinians will heed these urgings. The Palestinian issue, like Kashmir and Cyprus, will persist. But to lend support to the Palestinians who are suffering is our duty as humans. On this, Arab countries act exhausted. In addition, they are dependent on the West. They can't end the Palestinians' suffering. Also in developments on Cyprus and Bosnia, the Arab world hasn't worked to end the suffering. And this time Turkey again assumed the mission to stop the bloody clashes. Our premier made the first attempt to stop the attacks. France is continuing to show its historical interest in the Eastern Mediterranean. Nicolas Sarkozy came forward. Let's hope he's more successful more than he was with the Georgian crisis. The war in Gaza can't be Turkey's top issue." [08] ISRAEL'S MOVEBY HASAN BULENT KAHRAMAN (SABAH)Columnist Hasan Bulent Kahraman comments on the Middle East and Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows: "I should confess that the Israeli attacks, which have gotten more criticism and reaction from the world media than I expected, are so meaningful that they can't be only considered this country's move against Palestinians. For me, they opened a new page in foreign policy. From this point of view, the Israeli attacks can't be only considered a domestic policy initiative. The main point which is (or maybe isn't) interesting is that this move is supported by most of the Israeli public. What's more, it has given the hawks in Israel the upper hand. From a broader perspective, a mechanism which goes beyond condemning Israel is needed to solve the current situation. Unless this is understood, there will be no solution to the pain suffered by the Palestinians. 1. Israel's attacks show how the sphere of democracy, peace, security, and conflict that the world entered following the Sept. 11 attacks has moved in the direction of security and conflict. Israel started this war on the pretext that Hamas and Hezbollah constituted a threat to it and damaged it. This is how Israel turns back criticisms. So the conflict of democracy and security will operate in favor of security-oriented approaches, with force used both in local regions and elsewhere, from now on. 2. The world has remained silent in the face of Israel's initiative and violence. This is no coincidence. By 'world,' I mean the West. The West is even unable to operate the UN Security Council, which is the most important power under US interest and control, in this dramatic situation. What's important here is UN Security Council involvement and activity on the issue. But now we see an institution which insistently avoids this. Why? 3. The reason is clear. The West has been suffused with Islamophobia since 9-11. As Islam is considered the source of all evil, all kinds of opinions integrated with them and seen as opposition to the West are considered to be terrorist approaches. This isn't untrue, but this isn't and can't be enough to justify all that has happened. On the contrary, this situation shows in a very clear, bloodcurdling way that even the UN Security Council has been lost. What's more, the silence of not only the UN Security Council, but also US President-elect Barack Obama, showed that the world won't become a 'different place' anytime soon. 4. Of course Turkey will and should play an active role in the region in terms of these issues. Any other way is unacceptable. Turkey's relation with the region dates back hundreds of years, and it enjoys a very good reputation in the region. It has very important, concrete and good relations with all sides. On the other hand, while working as a mediator to push a solution in the region, we should carefully avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. I'm talking about the 2006 visit paid by Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal to the Turkish Presidential Palace at Ankara's invitation. We shouldn't forget that Hamas is an organization whose presence has been accepted but whose character no one can agree on. An initiative to legitimize it for the sake of a solution would put Turkey in a difficult situation, at least for now." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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