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Turkish Press Review, 03-09-05Turkish 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> e-mail : newspot@byegm.gov.tr <caption> <_caption> Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning05.09.2003FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...CONTENTS
[01] CABINET CONVENES IN SIVASThe Cabinet yesterday convened in the central Anatolian province of Sivas to commemorate the 84th anniversary of the Sivas Congress, a key step in the founding of the Turkish Republic. A number of issues, including possible troop deployments to Iraq, were discussed at the meeting. Speaking afterwards, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the government was working to make some changes to the Constitution, but denied that this included any move to curtail the powers of the president, something earlier suggested by Parliament’s Constitution Commission head Burhan Kuzu. /All papers/[02] GUL: “I BELIVE TURKEY WILL JOIN THE EU IN 2010”Speaking to Austrian daily Kurier yesterday, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that he hoped Turkey would begin accession negotiations with the European Union at the end of 2004 after completing the necessary harmonization reforms. “These negotiations will last for years,” said Gul, who paid an official visit to Austria this week. “But in the end, I believe that Turkey will join the Union in 2010.” /All papers/[03] ITALIAN LABOR MINISTER: “WE SUPPORT TURKEY'S EU BID”Labor and Social Security Minister Murat Basesgioglu yesterday received visiting Italian Labor and Welfare Minister Roberto Maroni to discuss a number of issues. During their talks, Maroni said that his country supported Turkey's European Union membership bid. Italy currently holds the rotating sixth-month EU term presidency. Speaking afterwards, Maroni said that their meeting had been very fruitful and they had discussed many issues concerning their respective ministries. Maroni further pledged that his country would do its best for Turkey to begin negotiations with the EU as soon as possible. “We will continue to support Turkey at the December 2004 summit, when a decision on negotiations will be made,” he said. For his part, Basesgioglu said that he and Maroni had reached an agreement in principle to do personnel exchanges and information exchanges on labor, health and security issues between their respective ministries. /Anatolia News Agency/[04] TURKISH, US MILITARIES HOLD TECHNICAL TALKS ON POSSIBLE IRAQ DEPLOYMENTRepresentatives from the Turkish and US militaries both began and ended negotiations yesterday on technical details of a possible Turkish troop deployment in Iraq. Top-level delegations from the US European Command (EUCOM) and Central Command (CENTCOM) yesterday sat at the negotiating table with their Turkish counterparts in Ankara to discuss the general principles of the issue. “Our meetings ended earlier than expected, but this shouldn’t be seen as a crisis,” said one US official. “In any case, new delegations are expected to continue the talks soon.” Defense sources stated that the meetings, where the two delegations agreed upon principles, were not held to reach a full-fledged agreement, but rather to exchange technical data to help the political decision-makers reach their final determination. /Cumhuriyet/[05] DEPUTY PM SAHIN MEETS WITH US AMBASSADOR EDELMANNew US Ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman paid a courtesy visit on Wednesday to Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin. Speaking after their meeting, Sahin said he had told Edelman that if Turkey felt it had a duty to help ensure Iraq’s stability, it would not shrink from fulfilling that mission. He added that he was sure Edelman would help to further Turkish-US relations. /Anatolian News Agency/[06] DEFENSE MINISTER GONUL TRAVELS TO BULGARIADefense Minister Vecdi Gonul yesterday flew to Bulgaria to attend an international conference on southeastern Europe. During his visit, Gonul is to meet with his Bulgarian counterpart Nikolai Svinarov and Croatian Defense Minister Zeljka Antunovic. /Anatolia News Agency/[07] ALGERIAN INTERIOR MINISTER ARRIVES IN ANKARAAlgerian Interior Minister Nourredine Yazid Zerhouni yesterday arrived in Ankara to meet with his Turkish counterpart Abdulkadir Aksu. Zerhouni is set to discuss a number of issues with Aksu today before leaving Turkey tomorrow. /Anatolia News Agency/[08] NEW IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER COMES OUT AGAINST TURKISH DEPLOYMENTHoshyar Zebari, Iraq’s new foreign minister as selected from its 25-member Governing Council, said yesterday that he opposed the deployment of troops from Turkey, or indeed any neighboring state, as part of a stabilization force in his country. "It is far better for everybody to keep all of Iraq's neighbors from conducting any peacekeeping mission, because each and every one of them when they come into the country are bringing their own political agenda,” Zebari told Reuters. "And this will not help to stabilize the situation ... it could lead to destabilization.” In a separate interview with Al-Jazeera television, Zebari, until recently a top official in northern Iraq’s Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP), claimed the presence of Turkish forces in northern Iraq had caused problems, adding, “We don’t want to see more of the same.” Stating that Iraq’s Kurds were not seeking an independent state, Zebari said he spoke for the entire Governing Council in opposing the presence of troops from neighboring countries in Iraq. /All Papers/[09] TURKISH, US OFFICIALS DOWNPLAY IRAQI FM’S STATEMENT, SAY THEY CAN WORK OUT TROOP DEPLOYMENT ISSUEOfficials from Turkey and the United States alike yesterday downplayed the Iraqi foreign minister’s statement claiming unanimous Governing Council opposition to Turkish troop deployment, saying that Ankara and Washington officials would reach their own conclusions on the matter. Troops in Iraq are coordinating their arrangements with the Governing Council, said US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, adding that he had “confidence that that [coordination] can be done in an appropriate fashion should it come to Turkey being willing to provide troops.” Another US official said that regarding the possible deployment, what Turkey wanted was key. “The statements of [new Foreign Minister Hoshyar] Zebari and other Kurdish leaders should be played down,” said the official. “We’re pleased with our recent meetings with Turkish military officials, and these contacts will continue.” Meanwhile, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said that Zebari’s statement reflected the Kurdish politician’s own personal views, not necessarily those of the Governing Council. “Our delegations are working in Iraq on the matter,” he added. “We will make our final decision in line with their reports.” In addition, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul suggested that the statement was an inappropriate expression of Kurdish factionalism, and that in the future Zebari should take to try to represent all Iraqis, not just Kurds. “The new Iraqi ministers should be aware that they represent all Iraqis,” said Gul. “Before making statements, they should consider them seriously, so as not to cause any disputes.” /Hurriyet/[10] TURKEY READIES CHARM OFFENSIVE FOR IRAQI HEARTSIn a bid to win the support of the Iraqi people ahead of a possible Turkish troop deployment, Ankara is drafting a 20-point plan to stage social and cultural activities throughout the country. The plan could include sponsoring free concerts in Iraq featuring Turkish singers popular in the region, such as Ibrahim Tatlises and Sibel Can. The plan also proposes the restoration of historical sites and mosques as well as work to improve the country’s electricity and water systems. Ankara believes that the Iraqi people might well be more welcoming towards Turkish soldiers after these special events and activities. Under the proposed action plan, a Turkish delegation is reportedly expected to visit Iraq to see the latest developments firsthand. /Cumhuriyet/[11] US PLANS RAPID ACTION ON PKK_KADEK ISSUEWashington recently told Ankara that it has sped up preparations on measures to effectively crack down on the activities of terrorist group PKK_KADEK, which last week announced that it had ended its ceasefire, despite a recent Turkish amnesty law. A delegation of US military and intelligence officials is expected to visit Ankara next week to discuss the details of Washington’s plans on the issue with their Turkish counterparts. Washington is reportedly planning to launch initiatives among EU countries to further internationally isolate the terrorist group. /Cumhuriyet/[12] FOLLOWING CAR ACCIDENT, GOVERNOR YAZICIOGLU PRONOUNCED BRAIN DEADFollowing a traffic accident on Tuesday, Denizli Governor Recep Yazicioglu has fallen into a coma and been pronounced brain dead, announced Ankara University Medicine Faculty Dean Tumer Corapcioglu yesterday. /Turkish Daily News/[13] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[14] EUROPE, FRIEND OR FOE? BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)Columnist Taha Akyol comments on Turkish-European relations. A summary of his column is as follows:“Earlier this week in Berlin, during conversations among circles close to German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan at a banquet thrown by the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD), opposition, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Deputy Uta Zapf said, ‘For years Turkish leaders have been promising reforms but they haven’t carried through. But this time, your prime minister unexpectedly is fulfilling certain reforms to make Turkey European. Europe can’t ignore this.’ In truth, our prime ministers were unable to carry through these reforms because the state wasn’t ready and their coalitions weren’t strong enough. The Europeans weren’t expecting such reforms from Erdogan because they considered him a ‘fundamentalist Islamist.’ However, through the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) one-party rule, Erdogan signed one of the most liberal reforms packages in the Republic’s history, thus fundamentally altering the state’s traditional military-civilian balance and its understanding of freedom. Certain things really are changing for us, putting us closer to Europe. However, is Europe itself sincere? Our diplomatic history is rife with examples of bad Europe intentions. In the last century Europe, acting as colonialist and invader, started two world wars within itself. However, now the German and French people, which between themselves have killed more than 50 million people, have become friends! That Europe is the European Union today. Some things are changing there, too, because they’ve learned lessons from history and more importantly, their economies and lines of communication are going beyond the borders and spurring ‘international integration.’ Today there is a conflict within Europe about becoming a ‘Christian club,’ but it can’t tell this to Turkey openly. Erdogan thinks that religion should have no place in the upcoming European Constitution because if it did, Christianity would be the EU’s official religion, thus barring Turkey’s entrance. Similarly, if Islam became our own official religion, we couldn’t join the EU. Today multiculturalism is a ‘developed value.’ Lale Akgun, a Muslim, ethnically Turkish German citizen, is currently a European Parliament member from the Social Democrats. There are other such examples in various European parliaments. Today Akgun is congratulating Erdogan for his reforms and efforts towards Turkey’s EU membership. Of course there are still certain circles in the EU which treat Turkey as an enemy for ‘ethnic’ reasons, but the Europes of the past and present are quite different. A Turkey in the EU will be more powerful both economically and strategically.” 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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