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Turkish Press Review, 03-12-01
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
01.12.2003
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
A SOLUTION FOR CYPRUS?
BY TUFAN TURENC (MILLIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] TESTS CONFIRM SUICIDE BOMBERS’ IDENTITIES
[02] TURKISH ENGINEER ONAL RELEASED IN AFGHANISTAN
[03] BAYKAL: “TERRORISM IS ONE OF OUR MOST DIRE PROBLEMS”
[04] GREEK FINANCE MINISTER VISITS TURKEY
[05] CLERIDES: “GREEK CYPRUS GOT EU MEMBERSHIP BY REFUSING TO MAKE CONCESSIONS”
[06] EUROPEAN GREENS VOICE SUPPORT FOR TURKEY
[07] ITALY POSTPONES MEETING IN ISTANBUL
[08] WORLD AIDS DAY OBSERVED IN ISTANBUL
[09] ISTANBUL STOCK EXCHANGE RECORDS RECORD YIELD
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[11] A SOLUTION FOR CYPRUS?
[12] BY TUFAN TURENC (MILLIYET)
[01] TESTS CONFIRM SUICIDE BOMBERS’ IDENTITIES
DNA tests have confirmed the identities of the perpetrators of recent
suicide terrorist attacks on British targets in Istanbul as Ilyas Kuncak
and Feridun Ugurlu, Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler announced yesterday.
Stressing that the deadly attacks seemed to be connected to the al Qaeda
terrorist network, Guler added that investigations were ongoing and that an
official statement would be made after their completion. In related news,
over the weekend 22 people wanted for questioning about both the Nov. 20
attacks and two earlier Nov. 15 attacks on Istanbul synagogues were turned
over by Syria to Turkish security forces. On Saturday, a Turkish court
charged a man identified as Yusuf Polat in connection with the synagogue
bombings in Istanbul. Polat was captured trying to flee into Iran at a
Turkish border crossing, police said. /Turkiye/
[02] TURKISH ENGINEER ONAL RELEASED IN AFGHANISTAN
Turkish engineer Hasan Onal, who has been held by kidnappers in Afghanistan
since the end of October, was freed on Saturday and brought to the Turkish
Embassy in Kabul yesterday. Officials said that Onal was in good health,
adding that he would soon return to Turkey. Onal is an employee of Gulsan-
Cukurova, a Turkish company carrying out a project in Afghanistan. /All
papers/
[03] BAYKAL: “TERRORISM IS ONE OF OUR MOST DIRE PROBLEMS”
Appearing on television yesterday, opposition Republican People’s Party
(CHP) leader Deniz Baykal called terrorism one of the nation’s most dire
problems. Though Turkey had been targeted by recent terrorist attacks,
added Baykal, it has long experience in battling terrorist groups. He also
criticized the government’s foreign policy, charging that it had paved the
way for terrorists putting Turkey in the crosshairs. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] GREEK FINANCE MINISTER VISITS TURKEY
Greek Economy and Finance Minister Nikolaos Christodoulakis yesterday
arrived in Istanbul to pay an official visit at the invitation of Finance
Minister Kemal Unakitan. During his scheduled meetings with Turkish
officials, including State Ministers for the Economy Kursad Tuzmen and Ali
Babacan, bilateral trade relations are on the agenda, and a Double Taxation
Prevention Pact is also expected to be signed. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan is also set to receive the Greek minister. /Turkiye/
[05] CLERIDES: “GREEK CYPRUS GOT EU MEMBERSHIP BY REFUSING TO MAKE
CONCESSIONS”
We achieved our upcoming European Union membership by making no concessions
on the Cyprus issue and by not accepting the United Nations’ plan for the
island, said former Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides yesterday. The
longtime former president further claimed that if no resolution is reached
by next May, when his nation is set to join the EU, this would both end
prospects for a settlement for the foreseeable future and frustrate
Turkey’s own hopes to get a date to begin accession talks next December.
/Aksam/
[06] EUROPEAN GREENS VOICE SUPPORT FOR TURKEY
The Greens Party's 22nd annual congress in Dresden, Germany ended yesterday
with an address by Claudia Roth, the nation's human rights commissioner and
a prominent party member In her speech, Roth lashed out at a statement by
Wolfgang Bosbach, an official in Germany’s ruling Christian Democrats,
claiming that European Union membership for Turkey would “import” terrorism
into the EU. Roth branded Bosbach’s comments, made in the wake of recent
terrorist attacks in Istanbul, as “immoral.” Also during the meeting, The
Greens passed a resolution expressing solidarity with and support for
Turkey. /Sabah/
[07] ITALY POSTPONES MEETING IN ISTANBUL
Following the recent deadly terrorist attacks in Istanbul, the Italian
government announced yesterday that “due to security concerns” it was
postponing a meeting set to be held in the city to commemorate the 25th
anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s pontificate. A future date for the
meeting was not announced. /Turkiye/
[08] WORLD AIDS DAY OBSERVED IN ISTANBUL
A meeting on “AIDS and the Media” was held yesterday in Istanbul’s Dedeman
Hotel in observance of Dec. 1, World AIDS Day. Participants at the
gathering accused the media of sensationalizing the immune system syndrome.
Organizers estimated that this year alone 40 million people had been
infected worldwide and that that number could double by 2010. /Star/
[09] ISTANBUL STOCK EXCHANGE RECORDS RECORD YIELD
The Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) announced over the weekend that this
October, it had achieved the highest yield among all world bourses in both
index and trade volume. That month, shares traded on the IMKB gained an
average of 20 percent in value. While 53 exchanges worldwide rose for the
month, Shanghai’s fell about 1.38 percent and after Turkey, Oslo scored the
highest yield, with 12 percent. /Star/
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[11] A SOLUTION FOR CYPRUS?
[12] BY TUFAN TURENC (MILLIYET)
Columnist Tufan Turenc comments on the United Nations’ plan to solve the
Cyprus issue. A summary of his column is as follows:
“If UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s plan goes through, within 10-15 years
Turkish sovereignty in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) would
come to an end and the island would belong entirely to its Greek Cypriots.
Even those who favor Annan’s plan accept this. For this reason, they say
that the plan should be revised. However, the Greek Cypriots aren’t even
satisfied with this and are calling for even more advantages. These Greek
Cypriots along with the US and European Union are working hard to make sure
the island falls lock, stock and barrel into Greek Cypriot hands. All their
calculations have served this end. So it’s for good reason that the Turkish
side is giving no ground on the issue of sovereignty. Even opponents of
TRNC President Rauf Denktas argue that signing Annan’s plan without
determining the rights of sovereignty would endanger the continued presence
of Turks in the island.
Now let’s try to spell out the plan’s true character. First we should agree
that if Annan’s plan is accepted, the 1960 agreements would be officially
annulled, which means that Turkey’s status as guarantor state would end.
Some people might object, ‘But the plan says 6,000 Turkish soldiers can
stay on the island.’ Admittedly this is true, but these troops won’t be
able to even set foot outside their barracks without the say-so of the
United Nations. After the signing of the Annan agreement, nearly 100,000
Greek Cypriots would retake their former homes in the TRNC and seize their
former goods. Greek Cypriots who settle in the north within a certain
period of time would have the right to citizenship and the vote. Those who
can’t do this will apply to the European Court of Human Rights as EU
citizens and most probably receive those rights this way in any case.
The real problem is, what would happen to the Turks living in the houses
claimed by the Greek Cypriots? Where will they go? The plan leaves this
question unanswered. Moreover, the exchange of goods at this stage would
certainly spoil the peace. At this point, the following questions springs
to mind: Could a plan proposing the expulsion of 100,000 people from their
homes really be called a ‘peace plan’? Are the wounds caused by such a
massive migration likely to heal easily? One cannot answer these questions.
Actually the Greek Cypriots openly admit that they colluded with UN
officials to draw up the Annan plan. If we really want peace on Cyprus,
Annan’s plan needs to be modified.
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