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Turkish Press Review, 09-02-04
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
04.02.2009
CONTENTS
[01] PRESIDENT GUL VISITS SAUDI ARABIA
[02] GUL: "TURKISH JEWS ARE EQUAL CITIZENS OF OUR REPUBLIC"
[03] ERDOGAN: "TURKEY NO LONGER SUFFERS FROM A LACK OF SELF-CONFIDENCE"
[04] BAYKAL: "IF I HAD BEEN TREATED LIKE THAT AT DAVOS, I WOULD HAVE REACTED THE SAME WAY"
[05] BAHCELI: "ERDOGAN'S DAVOS PROTEST EXCITED TURKS, BUT HIS LATER STATEMENTS WERE CONFUSING"
[06] ERDOGAN RECEIVES US AMBASSADOR JEFFREY
[07] TOPTAN INVITED TO GAZA CONFERENCE IN IRAN
[08] ANKARA HOSTING TERRORISM SUMMIT TODAY
[09] VICTIMS OF GERMAN APARTMENT FIRE COMMEMORATED
[10] FINANCE MINISTER IN GOOD CONDITION, SAY DOCTORS
[01] PRESIDENT GUL VISITS SAUDI ARABIA
Arriving yesterday for an official visit to Saudi Arabia, President
Abdullah Gul was welcomed by Saudi King Abdullah at Riyadh Air Base with an
official ceremony. Gul was accompanied by his wife Hayrunnisa Gul, State
Minister Kursad Tuzmen, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, Transportation
Minister Binali Yildirim, Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities
Exchanges (TOBB) head Rifat Hisarciklioglu and many Turkish businesspeople.
Before attending a dinner given in his honor, Gul met with the Saudi
monarch. /Cumhuriyet/
[02] GUL: "TURKISH JEWS ARE EQUAL CITIZENS OF OUR REPUBLIC"
Speaking to reporters before leaving for Saudi Arabia yesterday, President
Abdullah Gul said every citizen of the Turkish Republic has equal rights
and that Turkish Jews are no exception this, urging the Turkish public to
be more sensitive to Turkey's Jewish population in protesting the recent
Israeli attacks in Gaza. Asked about claims by the Israeli media in
particular that anti-Semitism in Turkey is on the rise in the wake of the
Gaza attacks, Gul said, "Our Jewish citizens are equal to me and you. They
can also serve as deputies or president. Each and every citizen of the
Turkish Republic has equal rights. Any discrimination against them is out
of the question. Israel is one thing and our Jewish citizens in Turkey are
another." He added, "Israel's policies toward Gaza and Palestine in general
have been criticized. The prime minister explained that his criticisms were
directed at Israeli government policies, not Israelis or the Jewish people.
There is a need to differentiate between these issues. Everyone should know
this." Gul also touched on Turkey's efforts to urge Hamas, which won the
2006 elections in Gaza, to take a proper stance on the Middle East peace
process, to work to dispel the international community's concerns about it
and to act as a political party, not an armed group. Turkey told Hamas the
right path to pursue and the consequences it will face should it go astray,
Gul said. He added that if Turkey's efforts had been supported everything
in the region would have been very different now. Turkey will do whatever
it can to help the Palestinians work together, he said. /Sabah/
[03] ERDOGAN: "TURKEY NO LONGER SUFFERS FROM A LACK OF SELF-CONFIDENCE"
At his Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) parliamentary group
meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke at length
about reactions to his suddenly leaving a panel discussion in Davos last
week after a heated exchange with Israeli President Shimon Peres,
complaining of unfair treatment by the moderator. Some may underestimate
Turkey and say it will pay a price for its peace policy but everyone should
know that it is stronger than this, Erdogan said. "Turkey is no longer a
country unable to gain prestige in line with its power in the international
arena or one suffering from a lack of self-confidence," he said, adding
that Turkey should take a stance proper to its power and gravity. Erdogan
also reiterated his dissatisfaction with the moderator, Washington Post
columnist David Ignatius, saying that he had been very rude and deserved
Erdogan's walkout. Touching on relations with Israel, he said, "There is no
other country in the Middle East or the Balkans that is on as good terms
with Israel as we are. Before all else, Israel should realize how it is
speaking and with whom." Erdogan also stressed that the government would
continue to deal with all domestic and international matters with the same
determination. In related news, Erdogan yesterday received Sudanese Vice
President Osman Taha. The meeting focused on strengthening Turkish-Sudanese
relations as well as discussing ways to improve conditions in Darfur.
/Turkiye/
[04] BAYKAL: "IF I HAD BEEN TREATED LIKE THAT AT DAVOS, I WOULD HAVE
REACTED THE SAME WAY"
Last week at the World Economic Forum the prime minister was addressed
harshly by his opponents and treated offensively, said main opposition
Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday. "We would
have reacted the same way in the face of such a situation, regardless of
being in opposition to the government." Baykal told his party's
parliamentary meeting. He also spoke about the Middle East, saying the only
solution to the region's problems is to have Palestine recognized as a
state as soon as possible. Baykal also criticized the government for its
past relations with Israel and not doing more to oppose the US invasion and
occupation of Iraq. /Turkiye/
[05] BAHCELI: "ERDOGAN'S DAVOS PROTEST EXCITED TURKS, BUT HIS LATER
STATEMENTS WERE CONFUSING"
Speaking at his party's parliamentary group meeting yesterday, opposition
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli said that Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's protest of mistreatment at a seminar in
Davos last week had been justified. Stating that Erdogan should show
similar stances on issues such as the European Union, Armenia and Cyprus,
he claimed that Erdogan's actions had excited many Turks, but then his
later statements were confusing. /Star/
[06] ERDOGAN RECEIVES US AMBASSADOR JEFFREY
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday received US Ambassador to
Turkey James Jeffrey at the Prime Ministry for a nearly one-hour meeting.
They discussed regional and global issues such as developments in Iraq and
Iran, energy security, and the Middle East peace process. Afterwards,
Erdogan said that Turkey and US are strong democratic allies. For his part,
Jeffrey agreed that the two countries have good relations, albeit with
occasional problems. "Our countries has been working together to overcome
challenges," he added. Touching on the Gaza issue, he said that there is
hope for solving the problems there. Stressing the issue's importance, he
said, "We have regular contacts with both Turkey and regional countries on
the issue." /Star/
[07] TOPTAN INVITED TO GAZA CONFERENCE IN IRAN
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has invited his Turkish counterpart
Koksal Toptan to attend a conference in Tehran to discuss the recent crisis
in Gaza, Iran's Fars News Agency reported yesterday. In a phone
conversation with Toptan, Larijani said regional countries should seek
better measures to address the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, said the
agency. /Hurriyet Daily News/
[08] ANKARA HOSTING TERRORISM SUMMIT TODAY
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan today will chair a terrorism summit at
the Prime Ministry, with Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug also in
attendance. Details on a new Interior Ministry unit to coordinate anti-
terrorist efforts are expected to be discussed. /Sabah/
[09] VICTIMS OF GERMAN APARTMENT FIRE COMMEMORATED
The first anniversary of a German apartment building fire where at least
nine Turks lost their lives, including five children, was marked yesterday
in both Germany and Gaziantep, the Turkish hometown of many of the victims.
Federal Commissioner for Migration Maria Boehmer, Turkish Ambassador to
Berlin Ahmet Acet, and Gaziantep Greater Municipality Mayor Asim Guzelbey
attended a ceremony in Ludwigshafen, the southwestern German city where the
fire occurred. Speaking at the gathering, Boehmer expressed her sorrow over
the lives lost, adding that the tragedy had brought Germans and Turks
closer together. State Minister Said Yazicioglu sent a message to the
gathering, saying, "If arson was responsible, the culprits should be found
as soon as possible." /Aksam-Milliyet/
[10] FINANCE MINISTER IN GOOD CONDITION, SAY DOCTORS
After undergoing a coronary angiogram, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan is
in good condition and could be discharged from the hospital whenever he
wants, his doctor said on Tuesday. "His vitals are stable," said Dr. Ugur
Erdener, who is also the rector of Ankara's Hacettepe University. Unakitan
had the procedure at Hacettepe University Hospital. "He has no health
problems," Erdener told reporters. Asked whether Unakitan would need
surgery, Erdener said doctors did not believe one would be necessary in the
short term. He also denied rumors that Unakitan had had a heart attack or
suffered from arterial obstruction in the brain. "He can leave the hospital
whenever he wants," Erdener said. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and
other Cabinet members visited Unakitan yesterday. /Turkiye/
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