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Turkish Press Review, 02-08-02
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Press
& Information
Turkish
Press
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
02.08.2002
PARLIAMENT BEGINS TO DEBATE EU REFORMS
FOREIGN MINISTER GUREL TO VISIT JORDAN
ECEVIT: “DERVIS HAS PLEDGED TO CONTINUE
HIS MISSION”
CEM: “EVEN IF TURKEY DOESN’T JOIN THE EU,
THE HARMONIZATION LAWS ARE IMPORTANT”
CILLER TO VISIT COALITION LEADERS
PARRIS: “AN IRAQ OPERATION WITHOUT TURKEY
IS UNTHINKABLE”
MIDEAST EXPERT CAUTIONS OF RISKS IN IRAQ
OPERATION
NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY DOCUMENT REVISED
JOB SECURITY BILL REMOVED FROM EU PACKAGE,
TO BE DEBATED LATER
ITO HEAD: “JOB SECURITY BILL IS ELECTION
POPULISM”
IMF TO DISCUSS LETTER OF INTENT, LOAN
TRANCHE NEXT WEEK
FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM
THE COLUMNS…
95 CRITICAL DAYS AHEAD BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
TURKEY, THE KEY COUNTRY BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] PARLIAMENT BEGINS TO DEBATE EU REFORMS
[02] FOREIGN MINISTER GUREL TO VISIT JORDAN
[03] ECEVIT: “DERVIS HAS PLEDGED TO CONTINUE HIS
MISSION”
[04] CEM: “EVEN IF TURKEY DOESN’T JOIN THE EU, THE
HARMONIZATION LAWS ARE IMPORTANT”
[05] CILLER TO VISIT COALITION LEADERS
[06] PARRIS: “AN IRAQ OPERATION WITHOUT TURKEY IS
UNTHINKABLE”
[07] MIDEAST EXPERT CAUTIONS OF RISKS IN IRAQ
OPERATION
[08] NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY DOCUMENT REVISED
[09] EXPORTS JUMP 29% IN JULY
[10] JOB SECURITY BILL REMOVED FROM EU PACKAGE, TO
BE DEBATED LATER
[11] ITO HEAD: “JOB SECURITY BILL IS ELECTION
POPULISM”
[12] IMF TO DISCUSS LETTER OF INTENT, LOAN
TRANCHE NEXT WEEK
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE
COLUMNS…
[14] 95 CRITICAL DAYS AHEAD BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
[15] TURKEY, THE KEY COUNTRY BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)
[01] PARLIAMENT BEGINS TO DEBATE EU REFORMS
Parliament met yesterday in order to debate a package of
European Union harmonization laws. All the political parties
except the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) voiced support for
the 14-article package. Speaking at the Parliament, Deputy
Prime Minister and Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz
stated that passing the harmonization laws would be to the
benefit of all political parties. During the Justice
Commission’s debate on the package, which included abolition
of the death penalty, the six MHP members of the commission
voted against every article of the draft. Facing opposition
only from the MHP deputies, the Parliament decided not to
observe a standard 48-hour waiting period and instead favored
opening debate on the package immediately. /All Papers/
[02] FOREIGN MINISTER GUREL TO VISIT JORDAN
As part of a “persuasion diplomacy” initiative on the Iraq
issue, Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel will pay an official
visit to Jordan next Tuesday. Gurel will work to convey the
message through Jordan’s King Abdullah to Iraqi leader Saddam
Hussein that Iraq should abide by United Nations resolutions
on that country. Jordan’s possible role in a US operation and
its talks with the US on the issue make this a key visit in
efforts to head off US military intervention. Gurel’s visit
comes as increased talk in both the US and Turkey indicates
the probability of an operation, which would step up pressure
on Turkey. Foreign Ministry officials still believe that a
peaceful resolution to the issue is possible. /Cumhuriyet/
[03] ECEVIT: “DERVIS HAS PLEDGED TO CONTINUE HIS
MISSION”
State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis, just back from
a visit to the United States, yesterday met with Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit at the Parliament for nearly 40 minutes.
Speaking after the meeting, Ecevit said, “Dervis hasn’t yet
decided about what to do about his political situation, but he
will continue his mission [with the government]. This is a
welcome development.” In talks with Dervis, Ecevit stated, the
two had agreed that Turkey’s economy was recovering despite
some continued problems. “As I understood Dervis, he wants to
continue his mission for as long as possible,” Ecevit added.
/Sabah/
[04] CEM: “EVEN IF TURKEY DOESN’T JOIN THE EU, THE
HARMONIZATION LAWS ARE IMPORTANT”
Speaking at the Parliament yesterday, former Foreign
Minister and New Turkey (YT) leader Ismail Cem stated European
Union membership was needed by the Turkish people and that his
party fully supported the EU harmonization laws. Cem also said
that even if the EU does not accept Turkey into its ranks, the
harmonization laws are an important step forward for the
nation. /Hurriyet/
[05] CILLER TO VISIT COALITION LEADERS
According to a statement released by the True Path Party
(DYP), DYP leader Tansu Ciller will visit the government
coalition leaders today. Ciller is scheduled to visit Prime
Minister and Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Bulent Ecevit
at 3:00 p.m., Deputy Prime Minister and Nationalist Action
Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli at 3:30 p.m. and Deputy
Prime Minister and Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz
at 4:00 p.m. at the Parliament. /Turkiye/
[06] PARRIS: “AN IRAQ OPERATION WITHOUT TURKEY IS
UNTHINKABLE”
Former US Ambassador to Turkey Mark Parris told hearings on
the Iraq issue yesterday that Turkey would necessarily play a
key role in any military intervention in that country.
“Turkey’s stance will be critical in the United States’
efforts to overthrow Saddam Hussein’s regime,” Parris told the
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Just by looking at a
map we can easily see that an Iraq operation without Turkey
would be impossible.” He added that the economic losses Turkey
suffered as a result of the 1991 Gulf War made it extremely
wary of a new operation. /Cumhuriyet/
[07] MIDEAST EXPERT CAUTIONS OF RISKS IN IRAQ
OPERATION
Speaking at US hearings on the Iraq issue yesterday,
Mideast analyst Dr. Phebe Marr cautioned that a power vacuum
resulting from US intervention in Iraq could mean serious
problems, both in Iraq and the region at large. In a struggle
to gain control of Iraq’s extensive oil fields, Turkey or Iran
might feel obliged to intervene, Marr told the US Senate
Foreign Relations Committee. She remarked that though the
nation would probably not break up, “retribution, score-settling
and bloodletting” could follow a US operation. “If the US is
going to take responsibility for removing the current
leadership, it should assume that it cannot get the results it
wants on the cheap,” she added. Aksam_
[08] NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY DOCUMENT REVISED
A statement yesterday from the National Security Council
(MGK) said that at its meeting last week it had reviewed and
revised its National Security Policy Document in line with
Turkey’s European Union National Program. In the new document,
which was last revised in 1997, Greece and Syria were removed
from the category of “priority threats.” The new document
identifies the east as the source of current threats, and
mentions Iran as the top factor in this regard. The category
of domestic threats to security was also revised. In the new
document, fundamentalism -- which ranked first in the 1997
document -- is now equal to separatist terrorism as a threat.
The document stated that fundamentalism and separatist
terrorism would continue to rank as priority threats in the
domestic security arena. /Aksam/
[09] EXPORTS JUMP 29% IN JULY
According to provisional figures released yesterday by the
Turkish Exports’ Union (TIM), Turkey’s exports in July leapt
29% as compared to the same period last year, to reach a total
of $3.15 billion. In addition, exports for the first seven
months of the year increased by 9.1%. State Minister Tunca
Toskay lauded the figures, saying they represented a historic
month for Turkey. A statement from TIM Chairman Oguz Satici
added, “The July export figures inject fresh hope into
Turkey’s plans to escape its foreign and domestic debt
spiral.” /Aksam/
[10] JOB SECURITY BILL REMOVED FROM EU PACKAGE, TO
BE DEBATED LATER
Parliament’s Justice Commission yesterday removed a job
security bill from a European Union harmonization package
under consideration, on the grounds that the bill was a late
addition not on Parliament’s agenda. However, as a result of
entreaties by the presidents of several trade unions, deputy
chairman of all the parties represented in Parliament
submitted a petition to Parliament Speaker Omer Izgi
requesting further action on the issue. /Milliyet/
[11] ITO HEAD: “JOB SECURITY BILL IS ELECTION
POPULISM”
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Istanbul Chamber of
Commerce (ITO) Chairman Mehmet Yildirim charged that a job
security bill before Parliament was “mere election populism”
in the face of Turkey’s worst economic crisis. The bill in
question would only result in increased unemployment and a
large unregistered economy, which would benefit nobody,
without broader structural adjustments, added Yildirim.
/Milliyet/
[12] IMF TO DISCUSS LETTER OF INTENT, LOAN
TRANCHE NEXT WEEK
The International Monetary Fund Executive Board is set next
Wednesday to discuss Turkey’s latest Letter of Intent (LOI),
after which it is expected to release a loan tranche totalling
$1.1 billion to the country. In a separate move, the World
Bank is also to release $450 million in credits to Turkey.
/Star/
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE
COLUMNS…
[14] 95 CRITICAL DAYS AHEAD BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Sami Kohen writes about foreign policy issues
that the political parties will use in their election
campaigns. A summary of his column is as follows:
“The next 95 days until elections are held are very
critical for Turkey. Elections are going to be held on Nov. 3,
at a time when important developments are expected to be
taking place, and the difficult task of making hard decision
during the next three months will be up to the current
coalition government. In the past, parties used only social
and economic issues, rather than foreign policy issues, in
their election campaigns. However this time around there are
some foreign policy matters that need urgent attention and
careful planning. That’s why the next three months will be
very critical. The first foreign policy issue that we will be
hearing a lot about during the campaigns are developments
related to the European Union. Turkey needs to pass the
necessary EU harmonization laws as soon as possible. The EU
Commission is set to issue its Progress Report in October and
the Union is going to decide, in December at its Copenhagen
summit, whether it’s going to determine a starting date for
accession negotiations with Turkey. If the Turkish Parliament
approves the ‘EU package,’ this will without a doubt have a
positive effect on the EU. However it should not be forgotten
that how the laws are implemented will also be taken into
consideration by the EU when it makes its decision. Another
foreign policy issue that is bound to be used in the election
campaigns is Cyprus. Direct talks between the Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas and Greek
Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides are set to resume in two weeks,
and it looks as if the EU and the United Nations secretary-general
are planning to take a more active role in these talks. It is
highly likely that the EU is going to make its mind up about
the accession of Cyprus (meaning Southern Cyprus) at
December’s Copenhagen summit. And that’s why the EU wants a
solution to be agreed upon by the two sides by November at the
latest. And it is in November that elections are going to be
held in Turkey. Consequently, the decision the current
government and Denktas will make is going to be of great
importance both in terms of the future of Cyprus and Turkey’s
relations with the EU. The last foreign policy issue that is
going to need attention is Iraq. It’s now clear that the US is
determined to take military action against Iraq. However a
date for the operation has yet to be decided. If the US
decides to launch a strike on Iraq at around the same time as
elections in Turkey, then the current government will have to
make some very tough choices. Let’s hope that these issues are
treated with the seriousness that they deserve and that
populist considerations of parties don’t stand in the way of
the government making logical decisions.”
[15] TURKEY, THE KEY COUNTRY BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)
Columnist Ferai Tinc writes on Turkish-US relations vis-a-vis
the US’s determination to strike against Iraq and Turkey’s
sensitivities on the issue. A summary of her column is as
follows:
“All the visitors from the US to Ankara over the last few
months spoke with one voice. ‘We have to confer with Turkey if
we are to take any action in Iraq,’ they said. ‘This is
certain.’ However, there is such a large and striking gap
between words and actions on the issue that these promises now
ring hollow. They go in one ear and out the other. Leaving
aside conferring with Turkey, the US is even intimidating us.
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, in an interview with journalist
Leyla Umar, said that no matter how firmly Turkey opposes such
an attack, the US is absolutely determined to go ahead with it
and the US has told Ankara that if it refuses to consent to a
possible operation, this won’t work in its favor. This is what
the prime minister is saying. Washington should at best be
sincere about Turkey’s sensitivity on the future of the
Turkmen population living in northern Iraq. Deputy Secretary
of Defense Paul Wolfowitz made a very clear statement on this
issue during his recent visit to Ankara, saying that the
Turkmens would also be taken into account in deciding northern
Iraq’s future. However, not even a month after this visit, the
US excluded the Turkmens from meetings expected to be held
with Iraqi opposition groups against Saddam Hussein.
Washington is consulting with Turkey but not listening to it.
Yet the destiny of the Middle East is now being redrawn for
the second time since the Ottoman era, and the region’s age-old
problems cannot be solved within any framework from which
Turkey has been excluded. Furthermore, democratization of the
region hinges on Turkey. That is why Turkey is the key country
to be given serious consideration in developments of the
coming era.”
ARCHIVE
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