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Turkish Press Review, 03-09-25
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
25.09.2003
THE WORLD AT A CROSSROADS
BY TURGUT TARHANLI (RADIKAL)
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN: “UNIVERSITY HEADS ARE PRACTICING POLITICS”
[02] GUL: “PARLIAMENT WILL HAVE THE FINAL SAY ON IRAQ DEPLOYMENT”
[03] POWELL: “WE HOPE TURKEY WILL SEND A DIVISION TO IRAQ”
[04] BAYKAL: “THE $8.5 BILLION US LOAN IS A BLACK MARK ON TURKEY’S POLICY”
[05] TRNC TO OPEN MARAS TO SETTLEMENT BEFORE DECEMBER PRESIDENTIAL POLLS
[06] IMF’S BREKK: “THIS YEAR’S INFLATION AND GROWTH TARGETS ARE ACHIEVABLE”
[07] BABACAN: “TURKEY COULD BEGIN ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS IN 2005”
[08] TURKISH VOLLEYBALL TEAM DEFEATS SLOVAKIA
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[10] THE WORLD AT A CROSSROADS
[11] BY TURGUT TARHANLI (RADIKAL)
[01] ERDOGAN: “UNIVERSITY HEADS ARE PRACTICING POLITICS”
Attending opening ceremonies for new firms in the central Anatolian cities
of Kastamonu and Cankiri yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
decried what he called a trend in which the heads of Turkish universities
have become engaged in politics. Criticizing recent statements of certain
university rectors concerning the new Board of Higher Education (YOK) Law,
Erdogan said the government was determined to make whatever changes were
necessary to the law. The premier also told reporters yesterday that the
government had not yet set a date for sending a motion to Parliament on a
possible Iraq troop deployment. “The matter may be debated in Parliament in
October,” said Erdogan. He further stressed that there was no relation
between a recent US deal to loan $8.5 billion to Turkey and the deployment
issue. /Hurriyet/
[02] GUL: “PARLIAMENT WILL HAVE THE FINAL SAY ON IRAQ DEPLOYMENT”
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who is currently in New York to attend
meetings of the United Nations General Assembly, yesterday continued his
contacts there. Speaking to reporters after a breakfast hosted by the
Turkish-American Business Forum in his honor, Gul said that the final
decision on whether or not to send Turkish troops to Iraq would be made by
the Parliament. “If we see that Parliament wouldn’t accept our government’s
decision, we won’t try to bring it to a vote,” said Gul. Later speaking to
a gathering on Eurasia, Gul said that a failure in both Iraq and the Middle
East road map would bring disaster to the region. During a meeting with
European Union Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten, Gul
reportedly signaled that Ankara expects the EU’s progress report on Turkey
out next month to be positive. The report will be the penultimate one
before the EU’s December 2004 meeting where is due to decide whether or not
to begin Turkey’s accession talks. Gul also met with US Secretary of State
Colin Powell. According to the Associated Press, a senior US official said
that Gul told Powell a UN resolution would be very helpful with Turkey’s
Parliament, but declined to predict which way it would vote. /Turkiye/
[03] POWELL: “WE HOPE TURKEY WILL SEND A DIVISION TO IRAQ”
Turkey is among a handful of countries that the US hopes will send large
numbers of troops to Iraq, US Secretary of State Colin Powell told Business
Week magazine this month. Speaking in a Sept. 9 interview for the
magazine’s Sept. 22 issue, Powell said that though nearly 30 countries
could send troops to Iraq, few of them actually had large numbers to
contribute to a stabilization force there. “Turkey, Pakistan, India,
Bangladesh, Germany and France [have large number of troops],” said Powell.
“These militaries are not as large as ours, with the exception of working
with countries like the Turks, Indians, and Pakistanis with a large
standing manpower, manpower-intensive forces, meaning lots of infantry.
What you need are infantry most and similar ground units, MPs, civil
affairs, folks like that.” Speaking about “dividing [Iraq] into zones,”
Powell added, “We hope that the Turks will come in with a division if they
can pull it off.” /Milliyet, www.state.gov /
[04] BAYKAL: “THE $8.5 BILLION US LOAN IS A BLACK MARK ON TURKEY’S POLICY”
Recent positive developments in the Turkish economy hailed by the current
government are actually the result of the previous administration’s
policies, charged main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader
Deniz Baykal yesterday. Addressing the Istanbul Chamber of Trade (ISO),
Baykal claimed that Turkey’s recent $8.5 billion US loan agreement was
linked to a political deal. “Up to now, no loan has been has been related
to such a deal. This is a black mark on Turkey’s history,” argued Baykal.
Commenting on a possible Turkish troop deployment in Iraq, Baykal said that
his party was defending Turkey’s interests and further reiterated the need
for any such action to be given proper authorization and legitimacy.
/Hurriyet/
[05] TRNC TO OPEN MARAS TO SETTLEMENT BEFORE DECEMBER PRESIDENTIAL POLLS
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Foreign and Defense Minister
Tahsin Ertugruloglu said yesterday that the TRNC was preparing to reopen
its southeastern coast Maras district, also known as Varosha, to settlement
before December’s presidential elections. “We are planning to open Maras to
settlement with the United Nations’ cooperation,” he said. He added that if
the cost of restoring old buildings was too high, then they could be
knocked down and new ones put in their place. In related news, Greek
Foreign Minister George Papandreou said that the Cyprus issue would be
pivotal in the European Union’s decision at its December 2004 summit
whether or not to begin Turkey’s accession talks. /Turkiye/
[06] IMF’S BREKK: “THIS YEAR’S INFLATION AND GROWTH TARGETS ARE ACHIEVABLE”
A delegation from the International Monetary Fund headed by IMF Turkey Desk
Chief Riza Moghadam yesterday arrived in Istanbul to begin the sixth review
of Turkey’s economic program. In related news, IMF Turkey Representative
Per Odd Brekk said yesterday that after completion of the sixth review, the
IMF Executive Board could convene at the end of next month to authorize the
release of a $500 million credit tranche. Brekk said that the review would
focus on this year’s budget figures and next year’s targets and also on
structural reforms. Brekk also praised the government’s implementation of
the program and said that this year’s 20% inflation and 5% growth targets
were both achievable. /Aksam/
[07] BABACAN: “TURKEY COULD BEGIN ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS IN 2005”
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, State Minister for the Economy
Ali Babacan predicted that Turkey could begin its European Union accession
negotiations in 2005. Speaking on the sidelines of the current
International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Dubai, Babacan
hailed the reform packages passed in recent months by Ankara, reforms he
said would help the country reach its EU goal. The Union is set to review
Turkey’s eligibility to begin negotiations at its December 2004 summit.
/Aksam/
[08] TURKISH VOLLEYBALL TEAM DEFEATS SLOVAKIA
During an Ankara match last night in the European Women’s Volleyball
Championships, the Turkish Women’s scored its fourth victory by defeating
Slovakia 3-0. Turkey will play against Germany tonight. If they defeat the
Germans, the Turkish team will be at the top of their group. After the
match, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated the players. /All
Papers/
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[10] THE WORLD AT A CROSSROADS
[11] BY TURGUT TARHANLI (RADIKAL)
Columnist Turgut Tarhanli comments on UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s
address to the General Assembly on Tuesday. A summary of his column is as
follows:
“Every year, the UN General Assembly’s opening meeting is held at the end
of September, and member states usually send their top representatives to
this important gathering. This year was no different.
About a month ago, over a dozen UN personnel, including Special Envoy
Sergio Vieria de Mello, were murdered by a massive car bomb at the UN’s
Baghdad headquarters. Naturally, world leaders were expected to express
their grief at this horrific attack. But in his speech to the General
Assembly, you could clearly see US President George W. Bush shedding
crocodile tears. Bush of course couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take
advantage of this tragic incident, considering how for the last two years
his administration has cynically used the ‘war against terrorism’ as its
motto as well as a pretext for military interventions worldwide. The Bush
administration has started to lay down pavement for a road leading the UN
straight into a dead end. Fully aware of this, UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan clearly expressed that the world was now at a crossroads. ‘The
unilateralism of recent events has … brought the international community to
a fork in the road, portending a moment no less decisive than 1945 itself,
when the UN was founded,’ he told the General Assembly, criticizing the US’
preemptive war doctrine. The problem is, in fact, not limited to the
terrorism issue. The world can fight violations of international law as
long as such ‘breaches of law’ are clearly defined. However, the problem
now is that the US defines new rules for its new doctrine, thus
unilaterally rejecting the established ones. Annan said that the doctrine
of preemptive action posed a fundamental threat to the UN’s principles.
Recalling that the UN Charter allows states to defend themselves if
attacked, he added, ‘But until now it has been understood that when states
go beyond that, and decide to use force to deal with broader threats to
international peace and security, they need the unique legitimacy provided
by the UN. Now, some say this understanding is no longer tenable, since an
“armed attack” with weapons of mass destruction could be launched at any
time, without warning, or by a clandestine group. Rather than wait for that
to happen, they argue, states have the right and obligation to use force
preemptively, even on the territory of other states, and even while weapons
systems that might be used to attack them are still be developed. My
concern is that, if it were to be adopted, it could set precedents that
resulted in a proliferation of the unilateral and lawless use of force,
with or without credible justification.’
Annan’s speech underlined how the international community should look at
recent developments with a view to building a better future for the world.
Thus world leaders will have to choose between ‘legitimacy and the rule of
law’ and ‘the use of brutal force.’ At this point, we need to ask
ourselves: Which path will our officials support? Where is Turkey standing
at this particular crossroads?”
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