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Turkish Press Review, 04-06-25Turkish 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 morning25.06.2004FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…CONTENTS
[01] ISTANBUL BOMBING KILLS FOUR, ANKARA BOMBING WOUNDS THREEA bomb exploded yesterday on a crowded public bus in Istanbul, killing four people and wounding 18 others. In addition, a percussion bomb wounded two policemen and a bystander in an explosion near Ankara’s Hilton Hotel, where US President George W. Bush is scheduled to stay this weekend during his visit to Ankara. /All papers/[02] NSC DISCUSSES REACTIONARY MOVEMENTS, CYPRUS, IRAQ, AND ISTANBUL_ANKARA BOMBINGSThe National Security Council (NSC) yesterday discussed a number of issues, including reactionary movements, Cyprus, Iraq, and yesterday’s bombings in Istanbul and Ankara. During the meeting, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly expressed the government’s determination to block reactionary movements. /All papers/[03] GUL: “TURKEY IS A POWERFUL COUNTRY”Commenting on yesterday’s bomb blast near Ankara’s Hilton Hotel where US President George W. Bush is set to stay during his weekend visit to the city, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that Turkey was a strong and powerful country. “Such events take place everywhere in the world, in London, Washington, etc.,” he added. “We have taken comprehensive security measures [for Bush’s visit and next week’s NATO summit in Istanbul].” Asked whether Bush’s visit might be postponed, Gul said this would be out of the question. He also certainly denied rumors that during his visit to Ankara, Bush would ask Turkish leaders for bases and some 18,000 US soldiers to be deployed in Turkey. /Turkiye/[04] INTERIOR MINISTER: “MARGINAL, RADICAL TERRORIST GROUPS COMMIT SUCH ACTS TO MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD”Speaking to reporters about yesterday’s bombings in Istanbul and Ankara, Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu said that radical, marginal terrorist groups committed such acts in order to make their voices heard. “The bombings were not serious,” said Aksu. In related news, speaking at a press conference yesterday, Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler said that a bus damaged by one of the bombs yesterday wasn’t the actual target, adding that the bomb was being transported from one place to another. “We’re looking at all the facts,” he added. “As you know, international terrorism targets such events [as the NATO summit]. We’ve taken serious measures.” Guler also said that state offices closing during the summit was out of the question. /Sabah/[05] ERDOGAN ADDRESSES NATIONAddressing the nation yesterday to evaluate developments both domestic and foreign, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey has become an altogether different country through his government’s policies, adding that there were no crises, woes, or difficulties facing the nation. He stressed that the government was working determinedly to overcome problems which had suffered from neglect and could do so only with the people’s support. Touching on Turkey’s European Union membership bid, Erdogan said that he believed the EU would give a date to Ankara this December to begin its accession talks. /Sabah/[06] SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL MEETING TO BEGIN IN ISTANBULA meeting of the Socialist International Peace Democracy and Human Rights Committee is due to begin today in Istanbul. The meeting, to be hosted by the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), is expected to focus on Iraq and the Middle East. Later, the participants will discuss the role of international organizations, including the United Nations and NATO. CHP leader Deniz Baykal is set to deliver the meeting’s opening address. /Turkiye/[07] ISRAEL’S EL AL CANCELS ISTANBUL FLIGHT, SUSPENDS OTHER FLIGHTS TO AND FROM ISTANBULIsraeli national airline El Al yesterday cancelled an Istanbul flight and suspended all other flights both into and out of Istanbul for the time being. Company officials stressed that the cancellation flight wasn’t connected to the recent bomb attacks in Istanbul and Ankara. /Cumhuriyet/[08] NO CHANGE IN BUSH’S TURKISH ITINERARYFollowing yesterday’s bomb blasts in Ankara and Istanbul, officials stated that there would be no change in the Turkish itinerary of US President George W. Bush. In related news, US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice told reporters that Bush was looking forward to the opportunity during his visit to Turkey to strengthen relations with a strategic partner and important country in Muslim world with its secular and democratic structure. Rice stated that on Sunday, Bush would meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pay a visit to Ataturk’s mausoleum (Anitkabir) and meet with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Necdet Sezer during a working lunch. She added that the US president would deliver a speech at Istanbul’s Galatasaray University on Tuesday and then fly back for Washington. /Turkiye/[09] IPUK LEADER TALABANI CALLS ON ANKARA TO GRANT AMNESTYIraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IPUK) leader Jalal Talabani, who is currently paying a visit to Turkey, yesterday said that this group’s relations with the Turkish state were very good and there was wide agreement on many issues. Stressing that militants of the terrorist group PKK in the mountains want to return to their homes, Talabani urged Ankara to review its policies on the PKK and grant an amnesty. Saying that the PKK has been split internally, with most members favoring a peaceful settlement, Talabani said that he didn’t expect the US to conduct a military crackdown against the PKK in northern Iraq, adding that Iraqi interim government would need to approve any such operation. /Hurriyet/[10] AGAR MEETS WITH TURKMEN LEADERTrue Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar yesterday met with Iraqi Turkmen Front leader Faruk Abdullah Abdurrahman accompanied by a delegation. Stressing that Iraq’s Turkmen have lived under pressure and oppression since the 1950s, Agar said that they should be properly represented in the nation’s new administration. /Turkiye/[11] CETIN’S MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN TO BE EXTENDEDNATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan Hikmet Cetin’s mission, due to expire in July, will reportedly be extended for another six months. Cetin and Afghan President Hamid Kharzai will also attend next week’s NATO summit in Istanbul. Cetin stated that success in Afghanistan carried great importance for international organizations, adding: “Terrorism is the gravest threat to the world, and global cooperation is essential in the fight against terrorism.” Cetin underlined the need for reforms in five areas in Afghanistan, including the demobilization and discharge of more than 100,000 militia as well as their integration into civil society. He asked for support to form a 70,000-strong national army. ''Towards this end 8,000 soldiers have already been trained, and a police force should be established,'' he said. Cetin also spoke on the need for reforms to the judiciary and stepped-up efforts to fight narcotics. He noted that the 75% of the world’s opium is produced in Afghanistan. /Star/[12] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…[13] WHAT DOES THE SUMMIT PROMISE? BY ALI BAYRAMOGLU (YENI SAFAK)Columnist Ali Bayramoglu comments on next week’s NATO summit in Istanbul and its possible results. A summary of his column is as follows:“Next week’s NATO summit in Istanbul is one of the most important, strategic and critical events for dispelling tensions and conflicts in the Western world following the Sept. 11 attacks. Probably at the summit it will be decided to restructure NATO and orient the West around a new model. This new structure and concept can be summed up as follows: Generally, considering the areas and values outside Europe, calling terrorism from the south and east as the chief threat, and re-working NATO not as a defending force for Europe, but rather an intervening force. What does this possible development mean? What might be its results? Firstly, Europe, particularly Germany and France, would fall into line on US policies, and this situation means that Europe wants to act within the framework and structure drawn by the US our of fear of being excluded from US plans. In addition, such a development would make ‘conflict of civilizations’ all too real. Likewise, the distance between on the one hand such countries as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which chose not to participate in the Greater Middle Eastern Initiative (GME) at the recent G-8 summit, and the Western world on the other is growing daily. The possible ‘new consensus’ reached at the NATO summit will exacerbate this. Finally this probably won’t solve such basic problems as poverty and global inequality which plague the world. Such a decision will not balance the imbalance in the world with civilian political initiatives, but control them with a public security order. Morevoer, it would be wrong to define Turkey’s situation as a ‘deadlock.’ This would turn Turkey into one of the forces intervening in the Islamic world and the south through and together with the West as part of NATO. For this reason, Turkey doesn’t object to this structuring, but instead argues that the way to ensure integration among NATO members and solve its problems should be through the UN and non-governmental organizations. I hope Turkey’s situation and the consensus it will establish with European countries will create a basis for positive developments at the end of the summit. So, the summit will be a historic summit, and maybe it will even usher in a new era.” 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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