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Turkish Press Review, 02-05-06Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr><LINK href="http://www.byegm.gov.tr_yayinlarimiz_chr_pics_css/tpr.css" rel=STYLESHEET type=text/css> <map name="FPMap1"> <_map> Press & Information Turkish Press Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning06.05.2002CONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT, “FEELING BETTER,” LEAVES HOSPITALPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit who was hospitalized on Saturday with severe stomach and back pains, was discharged from the hospital yesterday after an overnight stay for observation. On his way home he told reporters that he had had an intestinal infection but that now he was feeling better. Ecevit (76), a national political leader for the last 40 years, has been charting a centrist course for Turkey for three years during his most recent turn as prime minister. /All Papers/[02] BAHCELI TRAVELS TO AZERBAIJANDeputy Prime Minister and Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli will travel to Baku, Azerbaijan today to pay an official visit upon the invitation of President Haydar Aliyev. Bahceli is scheduled to meet with Aliyev, Azeri Parliament Speaker Murtuz Aleskerov, Prime Minister Artur Rasizade and representatives of domestic political parties. During the meetings, international and regional issues as well as bilateral political, economic and cultural relations will be taken up. Bahceli is to be accompanied by State Minister Resat Dogru, Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu and Health Minister Osman Durmus. Bahceli will return to Turkey on Wednesday. /Turkiye/[03] YILMAZ: “KADEK SHOULD BE ADDED TO THE EU’S TERRORIST GROUP LIST”Speaking to reporters after returning from a visit to Germany, Deputy Prime Minister and Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz said yesterday that KADEK was clearly a continuation of the terrorist PKK, and that therefore it should be added to the European Union’s list of terrorist groups. “Otherwise the EU will have been deceived,” Yilmaz stressed. Yilmaz also said that the PKK and the terrorist DHKP-C had been added to the list due to Turkey’s initiative and that in doing so, the EU had rectified a mistake, referring to the previous list which failed to include those groups. Speaking on Turkey’s full EU membership process, Yilmaz stated that it was up to Turkey to fulfill the criteria in order to get its negotiations process started. /Sabah/[04] KECECILER: “TURKEY WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT AFGHAN GOVERNMENT”State Minister Mehmet Kececiler said yesterday that Turkey believed that the Afghan government would overcome all the difficulties it now faces. On the second day of his visit to Afghanistan, Kececiler met with its Cabinet ministers and other officials. At the meetings, Kececiler remarked that Turkey had given all kinds of support to the Afghan government for the nation’s benefit and would continue to do so. Pointing out that the Turkish- Afghan Business Council had begun its work, Kececiler said, “Turkish businessmen are ready to invest in Afghanistan, to help construct infrastructure and to share their technical expertise to aid in the country’s development.” /Turkiye/[05] INDUSTRIALISTS TO VISIT SEZERIstanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) Chairman Tanil Kucuk and ISO Assembly head Husamettin Kavi are scheduled to visit President Ahmet Necdet Sezer today. The ISO is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and will invite Sezer to ceremonies to honor this landmark. /Star/[06] CITING TURKEY, US OFFICIAL CALLS FOR BETTER TIES WITH MODERATE MUSLIM WORLDUS Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz made a speech at a World Affairs Council meeting in California on Friday calling for more cooperation with moderate Muslim countries. Remarking that moderate Muslim countries including Turkey had taken many risks in order to protect their relations with the Western world, Wolfowitz stated that the US must support these countries. He stressed that since the huge gap between the Western world and some Islamic countries might lead to serious problems and crises, the US had to improve its relations with moderate Muslim countries. This March, Wolfowitz, also stated, “It is the great fortune of the United States to have in Turkey a friend and ally that has stood with us through war and peace.” /Cumhuriyet/[07] SHARON SUPPORTS TURKEY TO HOST OF MIDEAST PEACE CONFERENCEIsraeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday stated that he supported the idea of Turkey hosting a Middle East peace conference which would bring together all the involved parties to end the current conflict in the region. “I appreciate the US’ attempts to encourage Turkey hosting a meeting to help bring peace and stability to the Middle East,” said Sharon. No decision on where and when the meeting will be held has been made yet. This issue is expected to be discussed during Sharon’s meeting with US President George W. Bush starting tomorrow. /Hurriyet/[08] AERONAUTICAL ASSOCIATION TURNS 67The Turkish Aeronautical Association yesterday celebrated the 67th anniversary of its foundation with an elaborate ceremony in Etimesgut, Ankara. Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu, State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel and many high-level commanders attended the ceremony. An air stunt show by the Turkkusu pilots’group entertained the crowd. Turkish Aeronautical Association Chairman and Air Marshall Erdogan Karakus said that Republic Founder Ataturk had established the association in order to bring Turkish aviation into the modern world. /Turkiye/[09] TASAR VOWS TO CUT TOURISM RED TAPETourism Minister Mustafa Tasar vowed this weekend to cut out red tape and simplify procedures in the tourism sector, adding that his ministry had drafted a circular for this purpose. Tasar said that his goal was a ministry that implements projects quickly and officially. /Turkiye/[10] MERCEDES REAFFIRMS INVESTMENTS IN TURKEYMercedes Benz Turk Director Cetin Atsur stated over the weekend that Mercedes had recently made a decision to continue its investments in Turkey, remarking that the company was optimistic about the Turkish market. Atsur stated that Mercedes was planning to export 85% of the cars it produces in Turkey. /Hurriyet/[11] COMPULSORY RETIREMENT PLANNED TO CUT STATE OVERSTAFFINGState workers who have 30 or more years of service are slated for compulsory retirement to reduce public sector overstaffing under a new Treasury and Finance Ministry plan, sources said yesterday. The World Bank recently told the Turkish government that the number of people it employs is both excessive and unaffordable in the long run. The number of redundant employees was put at 130,000. Echoing the WB, the International Monetary Fund also warned Turkey that it should not employ more than 1.7 million civil servants. /Hurriyet/[12] TOBB CHAIR HISARCIKLIOGLU EASILY REELECTEDTurkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu this weekend easily won a second term at his post in elections at the TOBB’S General Assembly in Ankara. Delegates voted overwhelmingly, 113-8, for Hisarciklioglu’s slate for the TOBB Executive Board. /Hurriyet/[13] GOKALP: “GLOBAL CRISES BEGAN IN 1979”Agriculture Minister Husnu Yusuf Gokalp told a baker’s group yesterday that the economic crises that hit countries such as Japan, Brazil, Russia and Turkey in recent years began after 1979 when international conglomerates made a series of moves to manipulate the public agenda worldwide. Speaking to Turkey’s Chamber of Bakers, Gokalp said that these moves began in the United States and Great Britain and that “Reaganomics” in the ‘80s was a symptom of this. He added that if during those years the basis of economic production had been attended to, the crises would not have occurred. /Aksam/[14] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS[15] IF WE MISS THE LAST TRAIN BY TUFAN TURENC (HURRIYET)Columnist Tufan Turenc comments on Turkey’s path to EU membership. A summary of his column is as follows:“The next seven months will be the most important period for Turkey’s history. The future of the Turkish nation will be determined at the end of this critical period. Turkey will be either a European country, or the battle that has been carried out for 40 years towards this goal will have ended unsuccessfully. ‘Reaching the level of contemporary civilizations or not’: this is the sharp line that will be drawn. At the end of December we will either take a huge step on the path to become part of the civilized world, or we will be left out of that world. At this point, we all must be reasonable. Until the December EU meeting, we should work to meet these conditions: abolishing the death penalty, removing the legal obstacles to education on native tongues and ensuring progress towards a solution to the Cyprus issue. We shouldn’t have ignored the Mesut Yilmaz and Ismail Cem’s warnings. However, we failed in this regard as we were at loggerheads and some people were incapable of grasping this historical moment. However, the opportunity hadn’t been missed yet. We have a lot of time, that is, seven months. If Turkey comes to its senses and the conspiracy theories and groundless fears in some people’s minds can be left behind, these conditions can be met. Then do you know what would happen? The EU would be shaken by a strong earthquake, those who are against Turkey’s EU membership would be shocked and Turkey would have the necessary date for membership negotiations announced. Then a much easier process would start because once the full membership negotiations begin, there can be no turning back for either side. Therefore the December meeting is of the utmost importance for Turkey. What would happen if Turkey doesn’t meet these conditions? Then relations between Turkey and the EU would lead to a serious ambiguity and nobody would be able to know when the necessary date for membership negotiations would be given. Thus, Turkey might seek new avenues and alliances. The latest decision made by the EU disturbed some of the naysayers in Turkey because one of the excuses they can never stop talking about was snatched away. Those who are against the EU were saying, ‘Why don’t they include the PKK and DHKP-C in their list of terrorist organizations? Clearly, they have bad intentions.’ In some respect these reactions became useful because they awakened the EU from its inattentive slumber towards Turkey. However, at this point the work done by Mesut Yilmaz and Ismail Cem on behalf of Turkey has been very useful. In conclusion, everybody understands the importance of Turkey for the EU. Anyway, the matter was settled amicably. I hope we can meet the necessary conditions and get a date for starting full membership negotiations.” [16] CYPRUS AND THE EU? OR… BY EROL MANISALI (CUMHURIYET)Columnist Erol Manisali comments on Turkey’s relations with the EU. A summary of his column is as follows:“In November 1995, the EU Commission presented a report on Turkey to the European Parliament because the March ‘95 document was due to be voted on. The report read, ‘Approve the Customs Union, or it will be very hard for us to solve the Cyprus issue.’ By ‘solve,’ they meant accepting the Greek Cypriot administration as representing the whole island and having Ankara accept this ‘solution.’ In a speech last April, retired Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Inal Batu said, ‘In 1999, the EU made Turkey a candidate country in order to easily win the concessions it wanted.’ Thus, he explained one of the reasons why the EU accepted Turkey as a candidate country merely for show. In November 1994 at the end of the Essen Summit, it was decided that Slovenia would become an EU member. At that time, the Slovenian government was an unelected one and this country was in a worse situation than Turkey in every area, including socially and economically. However, the EU said that Slovenia would be part of its future ‘United States of Europe’ because the EU’s decision represented a ‘political preference.’ Meanwhile, Turkey would become dependent on the EU; it would be kept outside the EU and ‘in reserve.’ For this purpose a one-sided Customs Union agreement was arranged, and the for-show-only candidacy was arranged by certain Turkish officials who traveled to the European capitals in 1999. Then the for-show-only candidacy with conditions concerning Cyprus and the Aegean which Ecevit uneasily signed onto appeared. In December 2000, certain people used various tricks to the Cyprus and Aegean conditions in our EU Accession Partnership Document. Who were they? Which politicians they were? As with the Karen Fogg e-mail scandal, the facts about these events will eventually be uncovered and nothing will be secret anymore. The disagreement on the Cyprus issue might not be a problem in Turkish-EU relations, but a ‘reason for including Turkey in the EU.’ The EU might have said that by including Turkey, we can solve the Cyprus and Aegean problems; but it doesn’t and can’t say so because it will not make Turkey an EU member, this is the main problem. However, the important thing here is ‘the silent blow from the centers of power who want Turkey linked to the EU in a one-sided way.’ As they are afraid that this silent blow might not connect, they are worried about the Cyprus issue. They began to paint a rosy picture of EU issue so the storm that will break out at the end of the year can be welcomed. The main problem between Turkey and the EU is that the EU will never make Turkey an EU member. If the EU is to accept Turkey as a member, there would have not been the Cyprus and Aegean problems, the Armenian and southeastern issues would have been discussed and there would not be deep worries about the nature of the Turkish Armed Force (TSK) and the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). No matter what Turkey does, it will not be able to become an EU member because the reasons for it being rejected do not depend on Ýzmir, Cyprus or Diyarbakir, as Mesut Yilmaz says. Those who wants to paint it this way must have ulterior motives.” ARCHIVE <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js"> </script> Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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