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Turkish Press Review, 03-09-19
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
19.09.2003
ERDOGAN: “OUR GOVERNMENT USHERED IN A NEW
ERA FOR TURKEY”
PREMIER TO ATTEND IMF-WORLD BANK MEETINGS
IN DUBAI
GUL: “TURKEY SHOULD SEIZE ITS EU
OPPORTUNITY”
NSC TO CONVENE TODAY; DEPLOYMENT ISSUE ON
AGENDA
GERMAN CHANCELLOR ENDORSES 2004 START TO
TURKEY’S EU ACCESSION TALKS
PORTUGUESE PRESIDENT SAMPAIO HAILS NEW
BANK’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO BILATERAL ECONOMIC TIES
CICEK: “LAW AND JUSTICE ARE AS ESSENTIAL
AS THE AIR WE BREATHE”
US AMBASSADOR EDELMAN: “PKK_KADEK IS A
TERRORIST ORGANIZATION”
TRNC GENERAL ELECTIONS SET FOR DEC. 14
DENKTAS TELLS UNITED NATIONS THAT MINES
MUST BE CLEARED FROM BUFFER ZONE
AT COE GATHERING IN ANTALYA, ARMENAN
OFFICIAL CALLS FOR “UNFORTUNATE HISTORICAL INCIDENTS” TO BE
FORGOTTEN
MERCAN: “SOURCE, TRANSIT AND TARGET
COUNTRIES MUST WORK TOGETHER TO CONTROL ILLEGAL MIGRATION”
NINTH INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE FAIR
OPENS IN ISTANBUL
TURKMEN CHAPOOK: “IRAQ’S GOVERNING
COUNCIL DOESN’T WANT TROOPS FROM ANY COUNTRY”
CITING THE EU’S FAILURE TO CONDEMN PKK_KADEK,
TURKEY REJECTS REVISED TERRORIST GROUP LIST
IMF PREDICTS 5.3% GROWTH FOR TURKEY THIS
YEAR
TREASURY UNDERSECRETARY CANAKCI: “THERE
IS NO DEBT ROLLOVER PROBLEM”
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM
THE COLUMNS...
SCHROEDER AND BAYKAL
BY HASAN CEMAL (MILLIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN: “OUR GOVERNMENT USHERED IN A NEW ERA
FOR TURKEY”
[02] PREMIER TO ATTEND IMF-WORLD BANK MEETINGS IN
DUBAI
[03] GUL: “TURKEY SHOULD SEIZE ITS EU OPPORTUNITY”
[04] NSC TO CONVENE TODAY; DEPLOYMENT ISSUE ON
AGENDA
[05] GERMAN CHANCELLOR ENDORSES 2004 START TO
TURKEY’S EU ACCESSION TALKS
[06] PORTUGUESE PRESIDENT SAMPAIO HAILS NEW BANK’S
CONTRIBUTIONS TO BILATERAL ECONOMIC TIES
[07] CICEK: “LAW AND JUSTICE ARE AS ESSENTIAL AS
THE AIR WE BREATHE”
[08] US AMBASSADOR EDELMAN: “PKK_KADEK IS A
TERRORIST ORGANIZATION”
[09] TRNC GENERAL ELECTIONS SET FOR DEC. 14
[10] DENKTAS TELLS UNITED NATIONS THAT MINES MUST
BE CLEARED FROM BUFFER ZONE
[11] AT COE GATHERING IN ANTALYA, ARMENAN
OFFICIAL CALLS FOR “UNFORTUNATE HISTORICAL INCIDENTS” TO BE
FORGOTTEN
[12] MERCAN: “SOURCE, TRANSIT AND TARGET
COUNTRIES MUST WORK TOGETHER TO CONTROL ILLEGAL MIGRATION”
[13] NINTH INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE FAIR OPENS IN
ISTANBUL
[14] TURKMEN CHAPOOK: “IRAQ’S GOVERNING COUNCIL
DOESN’T WANT TROOPS FROM ANY COUNTRY”
[15] CITING THE EU’S FAILURE TO CONDEMN PKK_KADEK,
TURKEY REJECTS REVISED TERRORIST GROUP LIST
[16] IMF PREDICTS 5.3% GROWTH FOR TURKEY THIS
YEAR
[17] TREASURY UNDERSECRETARY CANAKCI: “THERE IS
NO DEBT ROLLOVER PROBLEM”
[18] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM
THE COLUMNS...
[19] SCHROEDER AND BAYKAL
BY HASAN CEMAL (MILLIYET)
[01] ERDOGAN: “OUR GOVERNMENT USHERED IN A NEW ERA
FOR TURKEY”
Speaking at a seminar on public relations and political
communication yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
said that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)
government had ushered in a new era for Turkey. “We are all
striving to serve our nation,” said Erdogan. He said that as
fighting corruption was a top goal for the AKP, it had not
interfered in the work of Parliament’s Anticorruption
Commission. Erdogan also touted recent positive economic
developments. /Turkiye/
[02] PREMIER TO ATTEND IMF-WORLD BANK MEETINGS IN
DUBAI
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled today to
travel to Dubai, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to
attend joint International Monetary Fund-World Bank meetings,
the first such gathering to take place in the Middle East.
Erdogan is expected to meet with IMF Managing Director Horst
Koehler, World Bank President James Wolfenshon and Donald
Johnson, head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), before returning on Monday. /Sabah/
[03] GUL: “TURKEY SHOULD SEIZE ITS EU OPPORTUNITY”
A new government body known as the Group for the European
Union chaired by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday held
its first meeting. The group, whose other members include
Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu and Justice Minister Cemil
Cicek, was established to monitor the nation’s implementation
of EU accession reforms. Before the meeting, Gul told
reporters that Turkey had legislated radical reforms on its
path to the Union. “Now it’s time to see their implementation,”
said the minister. Stressing that Turkey was in a critical
period in the runup to this fall’s EU Progress Report on
Turkey, Gul called for state institutions to work in
particular to tackle certain human rights problems. Meanwhile,
the group decided to establish a sub-commission headed by
Ambassador Murat Sungar. /Turkiye/
[04] NSC TO CONVENE TODAY; DEPLOYMENT ISSUE ON
AGENDA
The National Security Council chaired by President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer is set to convene today at the Cankaya
Presidential Palace. Today’s meeting is expected to focus on a
comprehensive consideration of whether or not to send Turkish
troops to Iraq. /All Papers/
[05] GERMAN CHANCELLOR ENDORSES 2004 START TO
TURKEY’S EU ACCESSION TALKS
Speaking at a meeting on the European Union in Passau,
Germany yesterday, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder endorsed a
start to Turkey’s European Union accession talks in 2004,
after the EU’s December summit. “Turkey has been vying for
European Union membership for 40 years,” said Schroeder.
“Domestic politics are no good reason to hold back its EU
aspirations.” He added that Turkey’s membership might also
help the Middle East peace process move forward. /Turkiye/
[06] PORTUGUESE PRESIDENT SAMPAIO HAILS NEW BANK’S
CONTRIBUTIONS TO BILATERAL ECONOMIC TIES
Visiting Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio yesterday
attended a luncheon given by Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler.
Sampaio also attended the opening ceremony of BankEuropa, a
new bank entering the Turkish market in league with the Banco
Comercial Portugues (BCP) Group, one of Portugal’s biggest
financial institutions. Saying that he was very pleased to be
in Turkey, Sampaio predicted a rise in commercial ties between
the two countries with this new initiative. He also visited
the Neve Shalon Synagogue, stressing that the religion did not
constitute an obstacle to Turkey’s European Union membership.
/ Anatolia News Agency, Cumhuriyet/
[07] CICEK: “LAW AND JUSTICE ARE AS ESSENTIAL AS
THE AIR WE BREATHE”
Speaking at a swearing-in ceremony for new judges and
prosecutors yesterday, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek told the
new officials that he believed they would do much to advance
the rule of law in Turkey. He added that law and justice were
as essential as the air we breathe. /Turkiye/
[08] US AMBASSADOR EDELMAN: “PKK_KADEK IS A
TERRORIST ORGANIZATION”
US Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman yesterday met with
Mehmet Agar, a parliamentarian and leader of the True Path
Party (DYP). Speaking to reporters afterwards, Edelman stated
that there was no ambiguity in the US stance on the KADEK
issue since Washington had added the group to its official
list of terrorist organizations soon after it changed its name
from the PKK. Asked about Washington’s evident failure to take
any concrete steps to eliminate the PKK_KADEK presence in
northern Iraq, Edelman said that US forces suffered from a
surfeit of tasks in postwar Iraq and so were unable to do
everything at once. “Turkish-US negotiations on this issue
will continue,” said the US ambassador. “With good will on
both sides, I’m sure our countries will make good progress.”
/Cumhuriyet/
[09] TRNC GENERAL ELECTIONS SET FOR DEC. 14
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Supreme
Board of Elections (YSK) announced yesterday that general
elections would be held on Dec. 14. Elections are held every
five years in the TRNC. Bans on campaigning in the two months
prior to elections will go into force on Oct. 14. /Anatolia
News Agency/
[10] DENKTAS TELLS UNITED NATIONS THAT MINES MUST
BE CLEARED FROM BUFFER ZONE
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf
Denktas yesterday reiterated to the United Nations that he
sought the clearing of mines from Cyprus’ buffer zone.
Speaking to reporters, Denktas said his government wanted to
start clearing mines in the vicinity around Lefkosa because
this was the most heavily travelled crossing area since the
borders opened this spring. Asked if a joint TRNC-Greek
Cypriot commission would be set up to look into the matter,
Denktas said that such issues should be decided by both sides.
/Anatolia News Agency/
[11] AT COE GATHERING IN ANTALYA, ARMENAN
OFFICIAL CALLS FOR “UNFORTUNATE HISTORICAL INCIDENTS” TO BE
FORGOTTEN
The Council of (CoE) yesterday began its Third Ministerial
Colloquy of southern Caucasian countries participating in the
STAGE (Support for Transition in the Arts and Culture of
Greater Europe) project, hosted by Turkey’s coastal city of
Antalya. The Caucasian countries in question are Azerbaijan,
Georgia and Armenia, and Turkey took part in the meeting as
one of five observer nations. Speaking at the meeting,
Georgian Culture Minister Sesili Gogiberidze briefed
participants on his country’s current and future cultural and
artistic activities. He added that Georgia had benefited from
its cooperation with the COE. For his part, Armenian Deputy
Culture Minister Karen Arisakesyan said that cooperation
between intellectuals and scientists would help to prevent
disputes and improve cross-cultural dialogue. Arisakesyan
stated that good neighborly relations were possible if nations
understood each other and exert common efforts towards that
goal. Stating that all nations should establish friendly
relations, Arisakesyan said that unfortunate incidents which
occurred in the past should be forgotten. /Anatolia News
Agency/
[12] MERCAN: “SOURCE, TRANSIT AND TARGET
COUNTRIES MUST WORK TOGETHER TO CONTROL ILLEGAL MIGRATION”
The Council of Europe!’s Parliamentary Assembly (COEPA) Sub-Commission
for Refugees convened in Istanbul yesterday. Speaking to the
gathering, COEPA Turkish Delegation Chairman Murat Mercan said
that there was a need for cooperation among source, transit
and target countries. Mercan said that Anatolians had accepted
people from other countries to their land long before anyone
knew the words “immigrant” and “refugee,” adding that the
issue was a global problem. He further stated that as of May
approximately 11,000 refugees were present in Turkey, and that
more than 90% of these were from Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. /Anatolia
News Agency/
[13] NINTH INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE FAIR OPENS IN
ISTANBUL
The ninth International Automotive By-industry, Spare Part,
Accessories and After-Sale Equipment Fair began yesterday in
Istanbul. Around 300 companies from such countries as Germany,
Russia, Italy, Japan, Iran, Singapore, Poland, Taiwan and
China are participating in the fair, which ends on Sunday. /Anatolia
News Agency/
[14] TURKMEN CHAPOOK: “IRAQ’S GOVERNING COUNCIL
DOESN’T WANT TROOPS FROM ANY COUNTRY”
An ethnic Turkmen member of Iraqi’s Governing Council
yesterday gave a conflicting message on how the interim
government views the prospect of foreign troop deployment.
During a recent visit to Ankara, Songul Chapook (Cabuk) had
called on Turkey to send its troops to Iraq. However,
appearing on television yesterday in Kirkuk, she said, “Our
council isn’t seeking troops from any country period, Turkey
included.” Chapook, who did not attend last week’s Turkmen
convention and does not belong to the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF),
added, “I’m a Turkmen, but first of all an Iraqi.” /Turkiye/
[15] CITING THE EU’S FAILURE TO CONDEMN PKK_KADEK,
TURKEY REJECTS REVISED TERRORIST GROUP LIST
The European Union yesterday announced that all of its
member candidate countries except Turkey had approved its
recently revised official list of terrorist groups. Ankara has
refused to approve the list since it failed to include the
terrorist PKK_KADEK. Signatory countries to the list pledge to
take EU-proposed measures against the organizations listed. It
is the first time that Ankara has refused to sign onto the EU
list, but not the first time the EU has failed to recognize
PKK/KADEK under either name as terrorist. /Cumhuriyet/
[16] IMF PREDICTS 5.3% GROWTH FOR TURKEY THIS
YEAR
Turkey’s economy will grow 5.3% this year and 5% in 2004,
predicted the IMF’s semiannual report on the global economy
released yesterday. The report also predicted that the
nation’s inflation would fall to 26% by the end of this year
and 13.4% next year. Though it praised Ankara for sticking to
the IMF-supported economic program and urged it to continue,
the report added that interest rates remained too high.
/Milliyet/
[17] TREASURY UNDERSECRETARY CANAKCI: “THERE IS
NO DEBT ROLLOVER PROBLEM”
Treasury Undersecretary Ibrahim Canakci said yesterday that
helped by a recent considerable drop in public sector debt
stock, there was no problem in rolling over Turkey’s public
sector debt. Canakci also said that sixth review of Ankara’s
International Monetary Fund-supported economic program, due to
begin next week, would be completed on time. /Milliyet/
[18] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM
THE COLUMNS...
[19] SCHROEDER AND BAYKAL
BY HASAN CEMAL (MILLIYET)
Columnist Hasan Cemal comments on how both German
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s and opposition Republican
People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal approach the Iraq
issue. A summary of his column is as follows:
“Statesmen shouldn’t get stuck in the past, because being a
slave to the past blocks one’s road to the future. However, we
mustn’t forget the mistakes of the past so as not to repeat
them. Therefore statesmen should treat the past properly in
planning for the future. I thought about these issues while
reading recent statements by German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder, leader of Germany’s social democrats. He harshly
opposed the Iraq war and criticized US President George W.
Bush, and he blocked the US’ bid for international legitimacy
for its war through the UN. Then, however, the US attacked
Iraq and overturned Saddam Hussein’s regime, but a new one has
yet to be established. The US has been neither successful nor
unsuccessful, and now it’s in a bind.
Speaking to The Wall Street Europe Journal yesterday,
Schroeder said that both those who opposed the war and those
who favored it shared a common responsibility, namely working
to make Iraq’s reconstruction succeed. ‘The idea that it’s
enough to follow the mixed developments in Iraq is wrong,’ he
added. ‘Our common responsibility means uniting to support
democracy and development in Iraq. We must fulfill the
requirements of this responsibility, and it’s no time for
finger-pointing.’ Schroeder openly called for cooperation in
Iraq. Another interesting point is that Schroeder didn’t link
this cooperation with a UN Security Council resolution. This
development might influence France too, and the UN might pass
a consensus resolution on Iraq. Both this probability and the
change in Berlin can give Ankara more room to maneuver and
take some pressure off the government.
Iraq is too important to be left to its own fate. The US’
failure and the chaos and anarchy in Iraq would only warm the
hearts of terrorists supporting Osama bin Laden, the Taliban
and radical fundamentalists. It’s only reasonable to pave the
road for stability and democracy in Iraq and contribute to it.
In sum, Schroeder was against the war and didn’t cooperate
with the US during it, but since the war ended, he’s called
for cooperation for democracy in Iraq. This stance reminded me
of how Republican People’s Party (CHP). CHP leader Deniz
Baykal was against the war, and I wonder about his view now.
Is he stuck in the past or can he look to the future? What
kind of an Iraq vision does he have? Or does he have one at
all?”
ARCHIVE
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