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Turkish Press Review, 04-09-14Turkish 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 morning14.09.2004FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] IN SANLIURFA, ERDOGAN USHERS IN NEW SCHOOL YEARPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday attended a ceremony at Sanliurfa’s Vakiflar Elementary School marking the beginning of the school year. Also present at the ceremony were Education Minister Huseyin Celik and Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan. Addressing the gathering, Erdogan said that the government would continue its support for education until Turkey enjoys universal literacy, and he further urged all families to send their children to school. In related news, Erdogan yesterday travelled to Dushanbe, Tajikistan to attend the eighth summit meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). /Sabah/[02] GUL: “I’VE SPOKEN TO POWELL ON OUR SENSITIVITIES CONCERNING DEVELOPMENTS IN TAL AFAR”Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said yesterday that he had briefed American officials, including Secretary of State Colin Powell, on Turkey’s sensitivities concerning recent developments in the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar, warning that Ankara would no longer cooperate with the US over Iraq if ethnic Turkmen continued to be harmed in US military operations there. Speaking at an Ankara press conference after returning from a Baltic trip, Gul said that he had telephoned Powell to tell him that the US operations had harmed Tal Afar’s civilian population. “I conveyed this very openly,” stated Gul, adding, “Of course we won’t be limited to words. We never shrink from doing what is necessary.” /Milliyet/[03] TURKEY TO SEND HUMANITARIAN AID TO TAL AFARDuring a meeting yesterday, Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ali Tuygan and US Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman agreed to coordinate efforts so that Turkey can deliver humanitarian aid to the Turkmen- populated northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, recently hard hit by US troops. Meanwhile, Edelman and US Consul General to Istanbul David Arnett made statements stressing that the recent US military crackdown in the city had been targeted at insurgents there. In related news, the city has reportedly capitulated to US forces without any serious resistance. Ankara has urged the US to immediately stop operations there after civilian casualties among the Turkmen population came to alarmingly high numbers. /Turkiye/[04] PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE TCK BILLParliament is set to convene this afternoon after being called to session by Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc to debate a new Turkish Penal Code (TCK) bill. The General Assembly is expected to work on the matter until the weekend and then go on recess until Oct. 1. In related news, during a meeting yesterday, Justice Commission members from both the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) met under the chairmanship of Koksal Toptan to reach consensus on certain articles of the new code. /Turkiye/[05] SPAIN, GERMANY, AND FRANCE PRAISE ANKARA’S EU REFORMS, URGE FURTHER IMPLEMENTATIONSpanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, and French President Jacques Chirac yesterday held a tripartite meeting in Madrid. In a statement afterwards, the three leaders praised Turkey’s recent progress in fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria for its EU bid, stressing, however, that it should exert more efforts for implementation of these reforms. “We’re looking forward for the EU Commission’s progress report on Turkey, which is due to be released next month,” said the statement, adding that the report would guide the EU’s decision whether or not to begin Ankara’s accession talks. /Cumhuriyet/[06] WEBSITE SHOWS TURKISH HOSTAGE BEHEADED IN IRAQIslamic militants in Iraq have apparently executed Turkish truck driver Durmus Kumdereli, who was taken hostage in mid-August. A video posted on an al-Qaeda-linked website showed an armed man cutting Kumdereli’s throat with a knife. /Hurriyet/[07] BRITISH FM: “IF TURKEY OUTLAWS ADULTERY, THIS COULD HARM ITS EU BID”Addressing a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels yesterday, British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said that he wanted Turkey to begin its accession talks with the EU. However, touching on a recent government proposal to re-outlaw adultery, Straw warned that adopting the proposal could harm the nation’s EU bid. “We don’t know if the Turkish Parliament will pass the bill [outlawing adultery], but we support Turkey’s EU bid,” he added. /Aksam/[08] IMF DELEGATION DUE IN TURKEY ON THURSDAYAn International Monetary Fund delegation led by Turkey Desk Chief Riza Monghadam is expected to arrive in Turkey on Thursday to hold a series of contacts with Turkish officials towards a planned new three-year standby agreement. /Star/[09] CIVIL SERVANTS, GOVT TO BEGIN COLLECTIVE BARGAININGUnions representing civil servants will begin collective bargaining talks with government officials tomorrow over their contracts for next year. The sides in the talks are expected to discuss a host of topics, including hikes in salaries and compensation, overtime pay, and other fringe benefits. The government is reportedly planning to offer an 8% wage hike for civil servants, but union representatives countered yesterday that this was unacceptable. /Milliyet/[10] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS[11] WILL THE ACCESSION TALKS BEGIN? BY OYA BERBEROGLU (AKSAM)Columnist Oya Berberoglu comments on Turkey’s European Union membership bid. A summary of her column is as follows:“You may say that we’ve already been making agreements with the European Union for 41 years. Or you may ask: Don’t we live a period of accession talks? We’re even the first non-EU member country to enter the customs union. This is all true, but the basic point is this: What we must realize from a real period of accession talks is harmonization to EU standards. We have to keep in step with every development in the EU. The most important and difficult thing for us is to change mentalities. In 1999 Turkey’s harmonization with the EU Acquis Communautaire gained speed. Eight comprehensive harmonization packages were brought to the Parliament. A bill on the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) recently came to the agenda. It is clear that Turkey has made progress in the required political criteria in terms of legislation. However, as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, it is impossible to change practices and mentalities wholesale overnight. This will be completed in the accession period mentioned above. Turkey will have to harmonize in 31 different areas. And will the accession talks begin? Of course we hope that the EU leaders will make a positive decision. There are many reasons why the EU is reluctant about Turkey’s membership – its culture, religion, population and so on. If a date for talks is given, then there won’t be any return for either side. I think the EU is caught between accepting and not accepting. What we must do is increase pressure on public opinion both within Turkey and without. The government and members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) believe that the EU will give Turkey a date for accession talks this December. I’m not so optimistic, but I hope I’m mistaken. However, if the EU is not a ‘European Culture’ – and it shouldn’t be – it shouldn’t get stuck in a ‘European identity.’ The EU should be a project beyond a ‘unity among diversities.’ It seems that the EU is working for this, therefore I think that it should give Ankara a date for accession talks.” [12] TAL AFAR, AND THE GUL-OZKOK MEETING BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)Columnist Fikret Bila comments on developments in the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar and a meeting between Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. A summary of his column is as follows:“Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, in Lithuania on the same day for different reasons, met to discuss the Tal Afar issue and compare notes from diplomatic and military sources. The Foreign Ministry has continued its initiatives in this direction as well. Last weekend US Ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman met with Deputy Undersecretary Ali Tuygan at the ministry as well. During the talks, Tuygan voiced Ankara’s concerns and requested that the US cease operations and avoid using excessive force, harming civilians and blocking humanitarian aid. Edelman said that the operations weren’t aimed at Turkmen in the city, but rather against insurgents and that US troops wouldn’t dmage the city’s demographic makeup. During these contacts in Ankara, news came from Tal Afar about details of the operation. Ankara learned that US forces had requested that security forces made up of Turkmen in Tal Afar launch operations against certain houses, and that Tal Afar’s Turkmen security chief had resigned due to the US’ insistence. Then Hursit Hasso, a Kurd, replaced him at US behest and then they held joint operations along with peshmerga from Erbil (Arbil) and Zaho as the ‘Iraqi Security Force.’ Ankara also learned that Turkmen families forced to leave the city had fled to the Kamber Valley and are now facing dire straits. Aydýn Beyatli, chairman of the Iraqi Turk Solidarity Association, reported that health conditions in the valley are very bad and that a group of Turkish doctors was heading for Tal Afar. Turkmen are concerned that the US operation will stretch out and that peshmerga will settle there with their families due to security concerns. Although the US gave Ankara a guarantee on this issue, the Foreign Ministry is closely following incidents there. Ankara is extremely concerned.” 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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