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Turkish Press Review, 02-10-01Turkish 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> <map name="FPMap1"></map> Press & Information Turkish Press Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning01.10.2002FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...CONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT: “PARLIAMENT SHOULD GO ON RECESS UNTIL ELECTIONS”Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit met with his party’s staff yesterday to evaluate ongoing efforts to postpone elections scheduled for Nov. 3. Following the meeting, Ecevit told reporters that they had discussed possible developments after Parliament reconvenes today. He said, “We are in favor of Parliament’s going on recess until the elections.” Stressing that they had not made a decision binding the DSP’s group, Ecevit said, “There is a great solidarity in our group. The overall consensus is to go on a recess until the elections.” /Turkiye/[02] NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES IRAQ SITUATIONThe National Security Council’s (MGK) regular monthly meeting was held at the Presidential Palace yesterday under the chairmanship of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. At the gathering, Foreign Ministry officials briefed the other participants, including Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, on the latest developments concerning United States plans to intervene in Iraq and what Turkey’s response should be. Other issues on the agenda included the possibility of mass immigration to Turkey in case of an Iraqi war and measures to be taken to prevent the formation of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq.[03] TURKER: “NOT GETTING INTO THE EU WOULDN’T HURT TURKEY’S ECONOMY”Economy Minister Masum Turker, who is currently in Washington to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, yesterday said that Turkey’s not getting European Union membership would not damage its economy. Speaking at the Strategic and International Studies Center, Turker added, however, that EU membership for Turkey would strengthen dialogue and cooperation between the West and East. “We hope that the EU member states appreciate Turkey’s key role,” stated Turker. The EU is expected to make a decision on membership negotiations for Turkey at its Copenhagen summit in December. After meeting yesterday with United States Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, Turker said that O’Neill was pleased with the improvement he had seen in Turkey’s economy. /Milliyet/[04] CILLER TO TELL PARTY LEADERS SHE OPPOSES POSTPONEMENTIn a whirlwind tour of party leaders in Parliament today, True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller is expected to voice her opposition to election postponement efforts. Over a one-hour period, Ciller is to meet with Deputy Prime Minister and Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz, Felicity Party (SP) leader Recai Kutan, and Prime Minister and Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Bulent Ecevit, and to speak with other party leaders shortly thereafter. Ciller is expected to say postponing elections would harm democracy, and that Parliament should go on recess until elections are held on Nov. 3 as scheduled. In addition, Ciller is expected to convene her DYP deputies to make a group decision in favor of going on recess. /Hurriyet/[05] TUSIAD GETS GREEK SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIPSeeking support from European Union member states for Turkey’s EU bid before December’s Copenhagen summit, a delegation from the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) travelled to Athens yesterday. The TUSIAD delegation first met with Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis. During their talks, Simitis stated that he considered Turkey a part of Europe and that he supported it getting a date in December to start membership negotiations with the EU. Simitis also said that Greece supported the continuation of the direct talks process in Cyprus. Odiseas Kiryakopulos, chairman of the Greek Bussinessmen’s Association, told the delegation that his group also supported Turkey’s EU membership. /Milliyet/[06] TURKISH-IRAQ BUSINESS COUNCIL REPORT: “TURKEY WOULD LOSE $150 BILLION IN US-IRAQ CONFLICT”According to a new report prepared by the Turkish-Iraq Business Council, a possible US military intervention in Iraq would cause Turkey to suffer some $150 billion in economic loses. Speaking to journalists at a press conference yesterday, council Chairman Mehmet Ali Neyzi recalled that Turkey had lost its second-biggest commercial partner in the post-Gulf War period, with a resulting economic toll amounting to approximately $100 billion. Neyzi stated that Turkish-Iraqi economic relations had already begun deteriorating due to the recent tense situation in the region, stressing that businessmen always wanted and supported peace. /Aksam/[07] BUSINESS CIRCLES PROMOTE TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BIDTurkish business circles have recently stepped up their efforts to promote Turkey’s European Union membership bid. Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu yesterday met in Ankara with ambassadors from the EU countries. Stating that Turkey had recently taken significant steps on its path towards EU membership, Hisarciklioglu remarked that he expected the EU to set a specific date at December’s Copenhagen summit for the beginning of Turkey’s accession negotiations. Warning that should the EU fail to announce a date for Turkey’s accession talks, the Turkish government would then be highly suspicious of the Union’s political impartiality, Hisarciklioglu added that Turkey needed the EU countries’ full support for future economic and political reform. /Cumhuriyet/[08] HISTORIC SESSION OF PARLIAMENTThe Turkish Parliament is set to begin a new judicial year today with a historic session where parliamentarians will discuss early elections. If various efforts aimed at delaying elections prove unsuccessful, Parliament will go on recess once again. In that case, a number of deputies fearful of losing their seats are expected to call for Parliament to hold an extraordinary session starting next Tuesday, Oct. 8. /Aksam/[09] AZIZ: “IRAQ DOESN’T THREATEN ANY COUNTRY”Iraqi’s Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz arrived in Ankara yesterday to hold a series of meetings with Turkish officials. Answering reporters’ questions at Esenboga Airport, Aziz said that he had come to a “friend and neighbor” country, Turkey, as the representative of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Stressing that he intended to talk and exchange views with Turkish officials regarding Iraq and its recent situation, Aziz said that the US’ “aggressive stance” threatened not only Iraq but also the entire region. “Iraq doesn’t threaten any country, it has good relations with its neighbors,” said the Iraqi minister. He added that a possible operation in Iraq would harm Turkey’s interests. /Turkiye/[10] TURKEY GETS NO GUARANTEE OF US HELP TO MINIMIZE FINANCIAL FALLOUT OVER IRAQUnited States Assistant Secretary of State for Eurasian Affairs A. Elizabeth Jones, who is currently visiting Ankara, yesterday held separate meetings with Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel, Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal and other senior Foreign Ministry officials to discuss the possibility of US intervention in Iraq and hear Turkey’s views on the matter. At these meetings, Jones was told that any war in Iraq would have severe negative repercussions on the Turkish economy and that Turkey would like to receive guarantees in compensation for the losses it would surely suffer. However, while Jones acknowledged Turkey’s request, she reportedly did not present it with any concrete guarantees. Turkish officials also brought up the subject of Turkey’s European Union membership bid and briefed Jones on the latest reforms to this end adopted by the Parliament in early August. Jones reportedly reassured Turkey that the US would continue to support Turkey’s EU membership bid. Additionally, the officials reminded Jones of the importance Turkey places on the preservation of Iraq’s territorial integrity and of its sensitivity towards the possibility of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq. /Cumhuriyet/[11] ANNAN: “EU MEMBERSHIP WOULD NOT BE ENOUGH TO SOLVE THE CYPRUS ISSUE”In the leadup to a New York meeting of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides set to begin on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said yesterday that Greek Cyprus gaining European Union membership would not solve the island’s problems. There is a divided island in question, added Annan, and negotiations between both sides will continue even if Greek Cyprus joins the EU. In related news, Denktas left the TRNC yesterday to attend the two- day meeting. /Hurriyet/[12] VOTING FOR EXPATRIATE TURKS TO BEGINVoting booths for expatriate Turks to cast ballots in the Nov. 3 elections are set to open tomorrow at several customs gates, largely at airports. Turkish citizens living abroad will be able to vote at the Ataturk, Esenboga, Antalya, Adnan Menderes and Sakirpasa Airports’ customs gates and the Kapikule gate at the Turkish-Bulgarian border as of 7:00 a.m. The booths will be open continuously through the end of voting on Nov. 3. Citizens over 18 who have resided for over six months abroad and who are not included on voting registration lists will be eligible to cast ballots at the gates. /Turkiye/[13] TURKEY TO BOOST COOPERATION WITH TRNCForeign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel told reporters yesterday that a decision was made at the fifth meeting of the Turkey-Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Association Council to boost bilateral cooperation in the fields of justice and internal affairs and to establish a joint parliamentary council between the two countries. Salih Cosar, the association council’s co-chairman, yesterday called the decision to intensify relations “important,” adding that the next step would be to achieve economic integration. He also called on Turkish businessmen to increase investment in the TRNC. A joint declaration issued at the end of the meeting stated that both countries were in agreement on the desirability of achieving full financial integration and partial integration in the fields of defense, security and foreign affairs. The declaration also said that Greek Cypriot efforts to gain membership in the European Union would only serve to deepen the existing split on the island. /Cumhuriyet/[14] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[15] WILL THE ELECTIONS BE HELD? BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)Columnist Taha Akyol comments on the initiatives to postpone the elections in Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows:“With dire public opinion polls hanging over its head, the Democratic Left Party (DSP) is worried about the upcoming elections. I recently met with former Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk. He is the DSP’s Trabzon candidate, but he still wants the elections to be held on Nov. 3. He’s an example of a politician held in high esteem who acts for the country’s best interests and in line with political ethics, principles and law, not out of concern for being elected or for his party. ‘If the elections are postponed, the country will be plunged into a maelstrom of instability,’ he told me. The current government is an elections government and if the elections are postponed, a new government would be necessary. But this would be hard to do because the fragmentation of Parliament has increased. Then the country would be without a government during this critical period.’ Parliament Speaker Omer Izgi is a jurist as well, one held high in public opinion. What will he do? Will he say, ‘The proposal to postpone elections wasn’t made in good will, and I won’t process it,’ as former Parliament Speaker Necmettin Karaduman did? Izgi told me yesterday that parties favoring postponement of elections had called the Advisory Council to convene, which he called a ‘goodwill initiative.’ Thus, the Karaduman example doesn’t hold under the current circumstances. There are also certain parties in the Advisory Council which don’t favor holding the elections as scheduled. Cleary there won’t be a consensus and the ‘ordinary process’ will be carried out. The Parliament speaker will give priority to ‘issues carrying over from the last session,’ and the proposal to postpone elections will be brought to the Constitutional Commission, etc. To sum up, Mr. Izgi said, ‘Under the procedural rules, a great many matters are still waiting to be dealt with. Therefore I don’t think that there will be enough time to deal with the postponement proposal. I think the elections will be held on Nov. 3.’ Is that clear enough? As it’s too late to postpone the elections, does playing out these useless, divisive initiative before the public have any meaning or purpose? At this point I consider Mr. Turk’s approach a very good example. Although his party has a very serious problem with the threshold, he is against postponing elections, saying, ‘The country would be harmed, and it would go against the spirit of the Constitution’s Article 78.’ Mr. Turk’s opinions and actions can be criticized, but certainly he always acts using his legal judgment, and he is against politicizing that judgment. Even if he loses his seat due to his party, his esteem and respectability will remain intact. However, can one say the same of the ‘disgruntled deputies’? Those people and parties fearful of losing their positions in Parliament won’t win over public opinion by scraping and scrounging for three or four months in their seats, but will instead make things worse for themselves. However, essentially politics is a matter of respect. Postponing the elections will harm not only Turkey’s esteem, but also the esteem of those who push through the postponement.” [16] THE US, IRAQ AND TURKEY BY MUSTAFA BALBAY (CUMHURIYET)Columnist Mustafa Balbay writes on recent developments on the Iraq issue vis-a-vis this week’s separate visits of Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and US Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones. A summary of his column is as follows:“Within a few hours of each other, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and US Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones yesterday arrived separately in Ankara. Both came to ask for Turkey’s help. Turkey, in turn, told them, ‘You help me.’ All the high-level officials who met Jones yesterday sang the same tune: ‘Turkey is an ally of the US, and we believe that there is much we can do together in the 21st century. But we have serious reservations about the Iraq issue, and not just those related to Turkey’s situation alone. First of all, the Middle East cannot weather three simultaneous crises. There is the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Moreover, Afghanistan is also a part of the region. Now, when you add an Iraq adventure on top of these two, how will you justify and explain your reasons for this vexing trio? You should reconsider your plans. The economic dimensions of a possible operation’s impact on Turkey alone are huge enough. 1991’s Gulf War cost Turkey some $50 billion. Another war could plunge Turkey’s economy into a complete chaos.’ Jones’ response was short and to the point: ‘We are fully aware and have taken note of Turkey’s sensitivities on this issue. However, at the moment we are concerned about what the UN Security Council will decide.’ For Turkey the current situation is a real Scylla and Charybdis. If the US decides to move ahead on its own, Turkey will surely be politically at odds with Iraq. Yet, it will also have the right to demand direct compensation from the US for its economic loses due to an Iraq conflict. If it happens the other way round and the US gets to exercise its will in Iraq under UN auspices, this time Turkey will feel more comfortable in explaining its issues to Iraq and other countries, but it will lose the chance to request compensation. Moreover, the situation of the opposition groups in northern Iraq is another whole point of discussion. Turkey has already declared that the well-being of the Iraq’s Turkmen population is Turkey’s own responsibility. Tariq Aziz was Ankara’s other guest yesterday. He is expected to deliver Saddam Hussein’s message to top levels of the state that what the US is planning would violate international law and that therefore it must be stopped. Turkey will then tell Saddam, essentially, be a good boy and do as the UN tells you. Turkey is already quite busy with the Israel-Palestinian conflict as one of the very few states able to talk to both sides. In addition, Turkey has undertaken a great responsibility in Afghanistan, as well. And now, the Iraq issue. Here is one question Turkey has asked of neither Jones nor Aziz: ‘How far should Turkey get involved in the Iraq issue?’ This is the crucial question. Let me remind me my readers of last weekend’s meeting in Cappadocia where the situation of Iraq’s Turkmens was discussed. All in all, Turkey is seriously weighing every possible contingency in Iraq, and it seems that its Iraq agenda will grow even more tense.” 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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