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Turkish Press Review, 02-10-10Turkish 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 morning10.10.2002CONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT: “TURKEY’S FULL EU MEMBERSHIP SHOULDN’T TAKE MUCH LONGER”Commenting on the European Commission’s Progress Report on candidate countries released yesterday, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that Turkey had taken every necessary step in terms of democratization and human rights for its full European Union membership, adding that the report’s negative tone towards Turkey was completely unfair given Parliament’s rapid passage of EU accession laws this summer. “Turkey is a pivotally important country in the Eurasian region, one which the EU cannot dare to ignore,” he stated. “We are living in an era in which Europe and Asia are moving closer every day. That is why the EU cannot limit itself to the European continent. The EU must reach out to Asia, and Turkey is the only country capable of giving it support on this issue. So I think that Turkey’s full membership in the EU won’t take much longer.” /Aksam/[02] YILMAZ: “DECEMBER SUMMIT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROGRESS REPORT”Responding yesterday to the European Commission’s just-released Progress Report on European Union candidate countries, including Turkey, Deputy Prime Minister and Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz said that the document represented a failure of the commission to give Turkey its due. “But the political decision coming out of December’s Copenhagen summit is more important,” added Yilmaz. “After next month’s elections, the new government should intensify its diplomatic efforts up through the Copenhagen summit. Our aim is to get a date from the EU at the summit to start our negotiations.” /Milliyet/[03] BAHCELI: “EU INSINCERITY IS OBVIOUS IN THE PROGRESS REPORT”Deputy Prime Minister and Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday charged that the European Commission’s just-released Progress Report on Turkey once again proved the European Union’s insincerity. “Parliament passed the EU harmonization laws, but the EU didn’t take these into consideration,” stated Bahceli, whose party opposed the harmonization laws. “And now they have put forth new conditions.” /Milliyet/[04] GUREL: “THE PROGRESS REPORT ISN’T AN ACCURATE ASSESSMENT OF TURKEY”Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel stated that the European Commission’ just- released annual Progress Report had been a source of disappointment for Turkey, adding that he didn’t believe the commission had made an accurate assessment of reforms passed by the Turkish Parliament this summer. The report, which contains sections implying the insufficiency of these reforms in fulfilling the European Union’s accession criteria, failed to “appreciate our recent reforms,” Gurel said. Gurel added that he hoped the heads of state of EU member countries, who are to meet in December at the Copenhagen summit, would recognize Turkey’s strategic importance and give Turkey a date for the start of its accession negotiations. However, Gurel also made a point of saying that Turkey would flatly refuse any other formula short of the start of accession negotiations and that, in such a case, it would review its relations with the EU, including the customs union. After the release of the report, Greek Foreign Minister George Papandroeu telephoned Gurel to reiterate Greece’s support for Turkey’s membership bid. /Cumhuriyet/[05] RASSMUSSEN URGES ECEVIT TO[06] IMPLEMENT REFORMSIn a letter sent last week, European Union Term President Denmark’s Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rassmussen asked Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit to fully implement the European Union reforms passed by Parliament this summer. In his letter, Rassmussen said that the reforms had been passed very quickly and now they should also be implemented just as quickly. /Sabah/[07] US STATE DEPARTMENT: “TURKEY’S[08] PLACE IS WITH EUROPE”US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher reiterated yesterday that the United States believes “Turkey’s future is in Europe,” adding that it hopes the European Union begins Turkey’s EU accession talks “as soon as possible.” Speaking at the State Department’s regular daily briefing, Boucher said that “the closest possible relationship” between Turkey and the EU was “important …[and] in the strategic interest of the United States … Turkey and the EU.” He praised Turkey’s “major and positive steps in recent months” towards EU accession. Boucher affirmed that the US would continue to hold talks with EU officials on the matter until December’s EU Copenhagen summit, where Turkey expects to get a date for the start of its accession negotiations. In related news, US State Department Special Coordinator for Cyprus Thomas Weston told reporters yesterday that the EU should take a fair and reasonable attitude towards Turkey’s membership bid. “We expect that the EU’s Progress Report will be objective and recognize Turkey’s achievements, ” Weston said, speaking just before the document’s release. He added that good Turkish-EU relations would contribute to a settlement being reached on the Cyprus issue. /Star/ /Cumhuriyet/[09] GENERAL STAFF AND FOREIGN MINISTRY GRANTED FULL AUTHORITYPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit issued a decree to the Foreign Ministry and the General Staff this week fully authorizing these two institutions in case of a military operation in Iraq. Under the decree, the Foreign Ministry and General Staff will cooperate with the United Nations, the United States and other international institutions and take all necessary measures. /Turkiye/[10] US DELEGATION’S VISIT LINKED TO MILITARY INSPECTIONAs the United States is reportedly accelerating its preparations for a military attack on Iraq, the Pentagon has asked Turkish officials to send a military delegation to make airport inspections in southern and southeastern Anatolia. As part of this request, a high-level US delegation is expected to visit Turkey next week. /Turkiye/[11] BELGIAN COURT RULING BLOCKS ERDAL’S TRIAL IN BELGIUM FOR SABANCI MURDERAfter a hearing lasting just two minutes, the Belgian Supreme Court yesterday rejected an appeal from Turkey’s Sabanci family arguing that fugitive Fehriye Erdal be tried in Belgium for her crimes on Turkish soil. Under the complex legal procedures in Erdal’s case, she will likely stand trial in Belgium for the charges filed against her there, but not for her offenses in Turkey. Erdal, who is wanted in Turkey for the 1996 murder of businessmen Ozdemir Sabanci, was captured in Belgium in 1999 for holding a false passport and also faces illegal weapons possession and organized crime charges there. Turkey has long sought Erdal’s extradition for the Sabanci murder, with its request rebuffed by Belgium on the grounds that Turkey still allowed the death penalty. After abolishing the death penalty this summer, Turkey renewed its extradition request, to which it reportedly has yet to receive a response. /Turkiye/[12] SERDENGECTI: “AN IRAQ OPERATION WOULD BADLY AFFECT TURKEY’S ECONOMY”Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti said yesterday that a United States operation against Iraq would badly affect the performance of Turkey’s economy over the coming year. Serdengeci predicted that the uncertainty and high oil prices resulting from such an operation would cause inflation to rise. He stated that such a scenario wouldn’t affect Turkey’s targets for this year but would carry great importance for next year’s inflation targets. Turkey should still be able to meet its 2002-year end 35% inflation target, the CB head added. /Milliyet/[13] CHHIBBER: “DESPITE LAST YEAR’S ECONOMIC CRISIS, TURKEY HAS PUT FORTH GREAT EFFORT”Speaking at a telecommunications conference yesterday, World Bank Turkey Director Ajay Chhibber said that the WB was getting set to release a report on the Turkish economy sometime before the end of this year. Despite last year’s economic crisis, Turkey has shown tremendous effort in 2002, added Chhibber. Turkey’s economy has proven the pessimists wrong, he added, and the economic numbers demonstrate the nation’s economic growth. /Hurriyet/[14] TUSIAD CHAIRMAN: “A MILITARY OPERATION AGAINST IRAQ WOULD HARM TURKEY”Tuncay Ozilhan, chairman of the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD), said yesterday following the release of the European Union’s Progress Report on Turkey that the leaders of all the political parties should go to Brussels and give their view on Turkey’s EU membership bid. “The EU’s Progress Report on Turkey was technical, and its political will should emerge during the Copenhagen summit,” Ozilhan told reporters. “Until that time, Turkey should concentrate on the areas it doesn’t yet measure up in.” Turning to other subjects, Ozilhan stated that a possible military operation against Iraq would harm Turkey, adding that Turkey should make all efforts to resolve the Iraqi issue through peaceful means. Asked about reports that $1.6 billion of additional International Monetary Fund financing would be provided to Turkey next year rather then this one, he remarked that the IMF wanted to see if Turkey’s politicians applied populist policies during the election season. In addition, he added, TUSIAD will now start to visit follow European Union candidate countries in order to seek support for Turkey’s EU membership bid, with the first such visit being to Hungary. /Hurriyet/[15] TURKEY RESUMES IRANIAN NATURAL GAS IMPORTSEnergy and Natural Resources Minister Zeki Cakan, just back from an official visit to Iran, yesterday said that a new agreement had been signed between state-owned oil company BOTAS and the Iranian State Gas Company under which Turkey would resume natural gas import from Iran in 10-15 days’ time. Cakan added that under the new agreement, Turkey would get a better price on the gas than previously. Turkey had halted importing Iranian gas in June. /Cumhuriyet/[16] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[17] EU STANDARDS[18] BY MURAT CELIK (STAR)Columnist Murat Celik writes on the European Union’s political criteria. A summary of his column is as follows:“ ‘I don’t want a bilingual Germany. The best method of integration is assimilation. Turkish education shouldn’t be allowed in Germany.’ These remarks came from German Interior Minister Otto Schilly three months ago in an interview with the most prominent daily of German political circles, Suddeutsche Zeitung. ‘Today in Britain, religious racism against Muslims is legal, and it’s not a crime to discriminate against them.’ These words are from a book entitled ‘Britain From a Different Point of View,’ which was published by the Eurasian Strategic Research Center (ASAM). ‘Some 70% of the Turkish population residing in Canada believe that they are subjected to racial discrimination.’ Here is another significant remark from a study entitled ‘Multiculturalism.’ It’s possible to adduce more examples. For instance, in the Netherlands, lectures on Islamic culture are given in Dutch in order to preserve the linguistic integrity of the country. In Greece, no ethnic group, including the Turkish population in western Thrace, are considered a legal ‘minority.’ Now after all these examples, let’s recall the political criteria set out by the European Union against Turkey in its EU membership bid. It seems that other European countries aren’t being held to these political criteria. Taking into consideration these discriminatory practices, it’s clear that the EU is applying double standards in its relations with Turkey. I don’t mean that contemporary European standards can’t be implemented in our country. We are all responsible for advancing human rights and improving our democracy for the future of this country. However, my point is to remind the European countries of their own misguided policies. In brief, the message to be conveyed to the EU by our politicians should go along the following lines: ‘We will improve our democracy, but you should cease your discriminatory practices.’ This must be our response to the pressure we are currently facing. However, Ankara is unfortunately often late to speak up in such situations.” [19] WHICH EUROPE?[20] BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)Columnist Taha Akyol comments on the European Commission’s Progress Report on Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows:“While everybody was wrapped in anticipation waiting for the publication of the European Commission’s Progress Report on Turkey, I called Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz yesterday afternoon. ‘The report is far from meeting our expectations,’ he told me. ‘It’s like a song dominated by dark chords.’ The most striking expressions in the report were ‘renegotiating the Accession Partnership Document with Turkey’ and ‘drawing a new road map.’ Are we then going all the way back to square one? ‘They want to draw out the process! This is unfair,’ Yilmaz complained. ‘Yes, we have certain shortcomings, but the report exaggerated these. Other countries too had deficiencies, but these deficiencies didn’t block their membership bids.’ Yilmaz pointed out the EU’s accession aid to Turkey would be increased to 350 million euros in 2006, contrasted with 950 million euros to Poland and 650 million to Romania. ‘This sum isn’t very important to us directly, but it’s important in terms of demonstrating the EU’s intent,’ he added. Of course, the game isn’t over yet! The EU governments might adopt a more friendly approach with a ‘political’ strategy at the EU’s Copenhagen summit in December. ‘The EU’s decision will either accelerate the process or make it worse,’ Yilmaz said. ‘The worst possibility is if Turkey were offered a date but only on the condition that we “correct our deficiencies.” Any decision short of getting a bona fide date would send out shockwaves.’ I understand him to mean that Turkey will either get much closer to Europe or else put it at a distance. This report with ‘dark chords’ will strengthen the common conviction of the Turkish public that Europe is insisting on its own requests but refusing to open its membership door, and this will affect our elections to some extent. Turkey is in fact very experienced in its relations with Europe. Through Grand Vizier Ali Pasha’s reforms and diplomatic skill, the Ottoman Empire signed an agreement on participating in international law and territorial integrity in 1856 in Paris. However, just after this agreement was signed, the European powers proceeded to try to divide and divvy up the Ottoman Empire amongst themselves and force its capitulation. Is today’s Europe any different? Of course the age of imperialism is over and now we’re in the age of globalization. However, certainly we’re facing a narcissistic Europe which employs double standards. Changing the glibly-inserted clause ‘there are 9,000 criminals of thought in Turkey’s prison’ to ‘a few thousand criminals of thought’ only through Ankara’s fierce protests, and failing to specify exactly which crimes are considered crimes of thought, are typical indicators of this. Of course we have certain shortcomings. The judiciary hasn’t sufficiently adopted the rule of law and our bureaucracy has yet to fully adopt a philosophy of ‘impartial public service.’ If Europe really has good will, it will give a date to Turkey for membership negotiations and encourage Turkey’s development rather than considering these obstacles. Turkey shouldn’t let itself be sidetracked; it should continue its advance towards this goal, and Europe should also act with the full awareness that the Copenhagen summit will be a test for itself both political and moral.” 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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