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Turkish Press Review, 04-03-15Turkish 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 morning15.03.2004FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN MAKES CAMPAIGN STOPS IN SANLIURFA, DIYARBAKIRIn campaigning yesterday in the runup to the March 28 local elections, Prime Minister and Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the southeastern Anatolian cities of Sanliurfa and Diyarbakir. Addressing campaign rallies, Erdogan alluded to the recent riots in Syria, some near the Turkish border, reassuring his audience that this violence was not expected to spread. Stressing that his government was opposed to nationalism based on regional, ethnic or religion differences, Erdogan said that there was no discrimination among the 72 million people of the Turkish Republic. The premier added that his government was there to serve the citizens. “Serving the people is serving God,” said Erdogan. He also attended a number of opening ceremonies in both cities and then returned to Ankara. In addition, speaking on television last night, Erdogan said that he hoped Syria would effectively deal with the recent Arab- Kurdish conflict in that country, but that in any case the tension would not affect Turkey. /Aksam/[02] SYRIA CLOSES NUSAYBIN BORDER GATE INTO TURKEYIn the wake of rioting and fights between Syrian Arabs and Kurds in the town of Kameshli after a Friday football match, Syrian officials yesterday closed the Turkish border gate at Nusaybin. Meanwhile, Turks in Kameshli for business purposes reportedly left the town, and many of their vehicles were destroyed during the violence. /Turkiye/[03] TALAT: “IF TURKISH CYPRIOTS REJECT THE UN CYPRUS PLAN AT REFERENDUM, THIS WOULD CREATE PROBLEMS”Appearing on television yesterday, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat warned that if his countrymen reject the United Nations Cyprus plan at a referendum scheduled for April 20, this would create serious problems. “Rejecting the plan is tantamount to the Turkish Cypriots committing suicide,” said Talat, adding that a resolution should be reached by May 1, when Greek Cyprus is scheduled to join the European Union. He further stated that failure to reach a resolution on the island would also hurt Turkey’s EU membership bid. TRNC President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos are due to meet today to continue the give-and-take process in negotiations. If the TRNC and the Greek Cypriot administrations fail to reach an agreement by next Wednesday, March 24, then a four-way Cyprus summit is due to be held with the participation of Ankara and Athens. In related news, the draft of a new TRNC constitution was released yesterday. The constitution would come into force if both the Turkish and Greek Cypriots accept the UN Cyprus plan in the April referendum. /Cumhuriyet/[04] OPPOSITION PARTY LEADERS LOOK FOR VOTER SUPPORTOpposition party leaders continued to seek voter support ahead of March 28 local elections over the weekend. Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal campaigned in the southern province of Antakya, while True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar did the same in Burdur. Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli also held campaign rallies in Denizli. /Cumhuriyet/[05] GEORGIAN PROVINCIAL LEADER ASKS ANKARA TO ACT AS GUARANTORAslan Abashidze, the leader of Georgia's autonomous Black Sea region of Adzhara, yesterday sought help from Turkey and Russia as “guarantor countries” after armed troops prevented Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili from entering Adzhara over the weekend. Following the incident, which pushed the country to the brink of civil war, Saakashvili put the military on alert and threatened to punish the region with an economic blockade. Abashidze then asked for help from Turkey and Russia, which he called “guarantor states” under the 1921 Kars Agreement. “Both countries must back this international pact, which supercedes even their own constitutions,” added the Georgian leader. Meanwhile, Ankara has called on both sides to act with care and moderation. /Hurriyet/[06] AHEAD OF INVESTMENT MEETING, BABACAN HOSTS BANQUET FOR INTERNATIONAL CEOsPrior to the premier meeting of the Turkish Investment Consultative Council scheduled to begin today in Istanbul, State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan hosted a weekend banquet for prominent international CEOs. Along with leaders from 20 international companies and top Turkish businessmen, World Bank President James Wolfensohn and IMF European Director Michael Deppler also attended the banquet, where Babacan delivered a brief opening speech. Though the gathering was closed to the press, Wolfensohn reportedly called establishing the new investment council “a key step” for aiding and boosting investment in the country. The first council meeting is to begin today with opening speeches by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as Wolfensohn and Deppler. Today’s main topics will be “Turkey in the Globalized World Economy” and “How Can Turkey’s Investment Climate Be Improved?” /Sabah/[07] TURKEY, IMF AGREE ON COST-CUTTING AND TAX MEASURES TO COVER REVENUE SHORTFALLTurkey and the International Monetary Fund have agreed on a number of cost- cutting and tax measures to cover a revenue shortfall, prior to the IMF review of Turkey's progress under a $16 billion loan agreement, Economy Minister Ali Babacan told a joint press conference over the weekend alongside IMF Turkey Desk Chief Reza Moghadam. “We have reached agreement on measures to close the gap, caused by hikes in the minimum wage and pensions as well as lower-than-expected tax revenues,” Babacan said. For his part, Moghadam praised Turkey's recent success in bringing down chronic inflation and keeping interest rates under control. “Macroeconomic performance during 2003 has been impressive and the outlook for this year is also positive,” he said. However, he also called on the government to stick to macroeconomic policies and pursue structural reforms more aggressively. /All Papers/[08] MUMCU TOUTS TOURISM SECTOR AT BERLIN FAIRTourism Minister Erkan Mumcu yesterday attended an international tourism fair in Berlin. Speaking to reporters, Mumcu touted Turkey’s combination of quality service and low prices for both tourists and travel agencies. Stressing that there were more tourism promotional campaigns in the pipeline, the minister pedicted a 20% rise in German tourists visiting Turkey this year. /Turkiye/[09] VAKIFBANK GUNES SIGORTA WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL TEAM TAKES TOP EUROPEAN SPOTRepresenting Turkey at the Women’s European Top teams Cup Final Four, the Vakifbank Gunes Sigorta volleyball team won the cup yesterday by defeating German’s Ulm Pharma 3-0 in the final match in Bursa. /All Papers/[10] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS[11] GUL AND THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST INITIATIVE BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)Columnist Fikret Bila comments on the US’ Greater Middle East Initiative. A summary of his column is as follows:“When I met recently with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, we discussed at length the United States’ Greater Middle East Initiative. He shared with me certain warnings. He thinks it would be wrong to present or perceive the initiative as only concerning the issues of security and the military. He warns that if it is perceived this way, countries in the region will be uncomfortable and show it. Gul hopes that the road to democratization will be paved voluntarily by the countries of the region, and thinks that adjacent nations can help this process. Referring to his speech at an Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting over a year age, before the US’ invasion of Iraq, he said, ‘I’ve already introduced these themes in speeches I delivered in both the East and West. Why shouldn’t people living in these countries be happy just like those in developed countries? Why can’t they use their resources for improvement? Whey can’t they live in democracy and transparency? Why can’t gender equality be established? Why can’t they enjoy the freedoms of thought and belief?’ Saying that his speeches had gotten a positive response, Gul added, ‘I think just telling countries in the region to follow Turkey’s example would be a mistake. Perhaps it would be better to tell them that Turkey can be an inspiration. Such a stance would be both sincere and workable.’ Concerning Iraq’s possible breakup, Gul said, ‘If this happened, civil war would break out, there would be instability in both the nation and the region, and Iraq wouldn’t be able to bear such a burden without solving the problems of the Middle East, Palestine and Israel.’ The US is trying to bring its initiative to the agenda; however, creating a basis for democratization without solving the region’s other problems would be difficult. The Iraq problem hasn’t been solved yet. In addition, if ethnic and religious conflicts break out in Iraq and Syria, a fireball could engulf the entire region. The US should guard against this.” [12] THERE’S NEVER BEEN A TURKISH-KURDISH STRUGGLE BY MURAT YETKIN (RADIKAL)Columnist Murat Yetkin comments on the terrorist PKK_KADEK and the Kurds of northern Iraq. A summary of his column is as follows:“The weekend violence in Nusaybin, Syria was both bitter and instructive. Arabs were angered when Kurds turned a clash in Kameshli between Arab and Kurdish football fans into a celebration of a Kurdish federation in Iraq. Then the Arabs opened fire on the Kurds. The violence spread to the city, and the Kurds and Arabs began to attack each other’s neighborhoods. The events’ lesson for Turkey is this: The terrorist organization PKK once carried out a bloody assault against civilian and military targets. The campaign’s military base was on Iraqi soil, its political base (until 1999) was in Syria, and its financial base in Europe. The attacks cost Turkey dearly, in terms of both 30,000 deaths and a $100 million financial toll. Foreign and domestic investors shied away from Turkey due to terrorism, resulting in an underdeveloped economy, unemployment, late democratic and economic reforms, and 15 years spent on the road to European Union membership. PKK head Abdullah Ocalan got the world to pay attention to the Kurdish question, but this strategy was costly for Turkey as well as his supporters and himself. The organization he left behind is now split into two factions, one pro American and another pro European. Their hopes for the future depend on the northern Iraqi federation expected to be founded by the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP) and the Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IPUK). There’s another reason why the PKK couldn’t fight the powerful Turkish military: This fight didn’t make the Turks and Kurds enemies. People who felt the pain in their Anatolian towns and held almost daily funerals for martyrs haven’t sought revenge or attacked their fellow citizens. The fight against the PKK never turned into a fight between the Kurds and the Turks. There was another factor besides the common sense of the people, namely Turkey’s steady democratic improvements. The death penalty was lifted under reforms for EU membership, and so Ocalan wasn’t sentenced to death. A solution was found by improving democracy within democracy. As we just saw, little sparks in Middle Eastern countries ruled by dictators can cause set off a firestorm between peoples. Those who seek solutions through antidemocratic interventions should look at this example and realize the value of democracy.” 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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