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Turkish Press Review, 03-09-22
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
22.09.2003
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS CLINTON IN DUBAI
[02] GUL TO ATTEND UN MEETINGS IN NEW YORK
[03] CABINET TO CONVENE TODAY
[04] CEM REELECTED TO NEW TURKEY PARTY HELM
[05] BAYKAL CRITICIZES AKP’S PRIVATIZATION POLICIES
[06] BABACAN, US TREASURY’S SNOW INDICATE PROGRESS ON LOAN DEAL
[07] CONSTITUTIONAL COURT HEAD TRAVELS TO STRASBOURG TO MEET EHCR PRESIDENT
[08] VERHEUGEN: “THERE ARE CIRCLES OPPOSED TO TURKEY’S EU BID, BUT ITS REFORMS SHOULD BE COMPLETED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE”
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[10] BARGAINING OVER THE PKK BY ASLI AYDINTASBAS (SABAH)
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS CLINTON IN DUBAI
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is currently in Dubai attending
the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund,
yesterday met with former US President Bill Clinton. Erdogan told reporters
that the Iraq issue and the Middle East conflict had been taken up during
their talks, adding that Clinton said that he supported Turkish troop
deployment in Iraq. In addition, the premier met with Peter Woicke, the
head of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the IMF’s private
sector lending arm. He is also set to meet today with IMF Director General
Horst Koehler. /Turkiye/
[02] GUL TO ATTEND UN MEETINGS IN NEW YORK
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday flew to New York to attend the 58th
annual meetings of the United Nations General Assembly. Gul is expected to
address the gathering on Friday. Additionally, he is scheduled to meet with
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as well as 30 of his counterparts from
other countries, including the US, Britain, China and Greece. Before
leaving, Gul told reporters at Ankara’s Esenboga Airport that Turkey would
greatly welcome a new UN resolution paving the way for Iraq troop
deployment, adding however, that his government would make its own
decision. Remarking that Turkey felt more responsibility on the issue than
other countries, as Iraq was one of its neighbors, Gul said that Ankara
wanted to help the Iraqis restore peace to their country. /All Papers/
[03] CABINET TO CONVENE TODAY
The Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to
meet today. After completing his contacts in Dubai, the United Arab
Emirates, Erdogan will return to Turkey this afternoon whereupon he is set
to attend the meeting. The Iraq issue is expected to be the focus of
today’s gathering. /Star/
[04] CEM REELECTED TO NEW TURKEY PARTY HELM
The New Turkey Party (NTP) yesterday held its first convention in Ankara.
In an election of party administrators, former Foreign Minister Ismail Cem
was reelected to the NTP helm. Addressing the gathering, Cem charged that
Turkey was being dragged into turmoil. Criticizing the government’s policy
on Iraq, Cem alleged that decisions were being made with the permission of
tribal leaders and sheikhs. /Sabah/
[05] BAYKAL CRITICIZES AKP’S PRIVATIZATION POLICIES
Speaking at a regional congress of the opposition Republican People’s Party
(CHP) yesterday, Deniz Baykal criticized the privatization policies of the
ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. “They say that the
state will withdraw from education, ending its involvement in that area,”
said Baykal. “How can they say this in a country in which 15 million
students go to school through the help of scholarships?” Also touching on
the Iraq troop deployment issue, Baykal said that the government shouldn’t
send troops to Iraq without the United Nations first passing a resolution.
/Hurriyet/
[06] BABACAN, US TREASURY’S SNOW INDICATE PROGRESS ON LOAN DEAL
State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan, who is currently in Dubai to
attend annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World
Bank, yesterday briefed reporters on his meetings there. Babacan said that
there was no problem concerning an $8.5 billion US loan, adding that this
matter was not related to the issue of Turkey sending troops to Iraq. “The
process [of loan talks] is ongoing,” he said. “There won’t be any delay on
the loan.” Babacan added that Ankara could also get a loan from other
countries, but that conditions of the US loan were more suitable and
favorable. “Our full implementation of our IMF-supported economic program
has made the economy more resistant to shocks both domestic and foreign,”
he said. He also stated that he had met with Brazilian Finance Minister
Antonio Palocci Filho and that they had had the chance to discuss both
countries’ economic programs. In related news, US Treasury Undersecretary
John Taylor said on Saturday that a final deal on the loan could be signed
by Babacan and US Treasury Secretary John Snow on Monday. /All papers/
[07] CONSTITUTIONAL COURT HEAD TRAVELS TO STRASBOURG TO MEET EHCR PRESIDENT
Constitutional Court Chief Justice Mustafa Bumin yesterday travelled to
Strasbourg to meet with Luzius Wildhaber, the president of the European
Court of Human Rights (ECHR). During their meeting, they are expected to
discuss legal human rights reforms. Bumin will be accompanied by six of his
Constitutional Court colleagues during his visit. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] VERHEUGEN: “THERE ARE CIRCLES OPPOSED TO TURKEY’S EU BID, BUT ITS
REFORMS SHOULD BE COMPLETED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE”
Guenter Verheugen, the European Union’s commissioner for enlargement, said
yesterday that Turkey could join the Union after carrying out certain
needed reforms. There are some circles in Turkey who are opposed to the
nation’s EU bid, added Verheugen, but notwithstanding this the reforms
should be completed as soon as possible. However, he stated that the EU
needed to make structural changes in order to accept Turkey with its large
population, adding that the EU’s enlargement process would not continue
forever. /Cumhuriyet/
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[10] BARGAINING OVER THE PKK BY ASLI AYDINTASBAS (SABAH)
Columnist Asli Aydintasbas writes on talks between Ankara and Washington on
the PKK_KADEK terrorist issue. A summary of her column is as follows:
“I think that the recent negotiations on the PKK issue between Turkey and
the US have left a bad taste in the mouth of the Turkish public, as if our
countries are bargaining over the issue, thus damaging the credibility of
our partnership. The American side has made it clear that eliminating the
PKK_KADEK presence in northern Iraq isn’t one of its military priorities,
although they eventually want to end the activities of the terrorist group
to help establish peace and stability in the region. Washington is also
willing to bide its time to watch developments in the wake of our recent
law offering amnesty to PKK terrorists in the hope of integrating them into
society. However, if necessary, Washington is planning to launch new
initiatives next year to force the PKK militants to disarm. Furthermore,
Washington expects Ankara to protect the legal political sphere given to
the political movement which we might call ‘Kurdish nationalism,’ so as to
encourage PKK terrorists to lay down their arms and join a legitimate
political formation.
Although Ankara doesn’t oppose this strategy, it also wants the disarmament
process to begin as soon as possible, since its concerns rose earlier this
month when PKK leaders announced they were abandoning a four-year ceasefire
with Turkey. In truth, the negotiations over the PKK issue seem to be on
the right track. However, I don’t think that the public understands what’s
really going on between our officials. First of all, people believe that
the PKK business and possible Turkish troop deployments are two intertwined,
inseparable issues. Turkish people think that Washington is blackmailing
Ankara on this issue. If you ask the man on the street, Washington actually
doesn’t care about the PKK presence in the region but is only trying to
force Turkey to send its troops to Iraq. However, as a matter of fact, both
sides share common views, recognizing the PKK_KADEK as a terrorist
organization whose activities must be brought to an end. There’s no doubt
that in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration has
fought against most terrorist organizations worldwide.
However, the devil lies in the details. Despite our common views, Ankara
and Washington are likely to suffer certain problems in the future because
the US generals in the region have an almost autonomous status. Their
priority is to find Saddam Hussein. The question here is whether or not
Washington will be able to persuade its generals to take effective moves to
crack down on the PKK.”
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