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Turkish Press Review, 04-09-22Turkish 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 morning22.09.2004FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN ATTENDS OPENING OF COPPER MINE IN SIIRTPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday attended the opening ceremony of an old copper mine in the southeastern city of Siirt. “This enterprise is an example of mining developments in Turkey,” said Erdogan. /Star/[02] GUL MEETS WITH GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER IN NEW YORKForeign Minister Abdullah Gul, currently in New York to attend the opening session of the UN General Assembly, yesterday met with his Greek counterpart Petros Molivyatis. During their talks, in line with friendly relations between the two countries, the two leaders agreed this year to cancel military exercises in the Mediterranean which had been scheduled for October. In addition, Molivyatis vowed to support Turkey’s European Union membership, saying that it would serve not only the interests of Ankara and Athens but also Europe and the entire region. Then Gul met with his Jordanian and Egyptian counterparts. Their talks reportedly focused on Iraq and other regional issues. After attending a luncheon hosted by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Gul met with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. /Turkiye/[03] TURKISH FIRM HALTS OPERATIONS IN IRAQOfficials of Turkish construction company VINSAN A.S. announced yesterday that it was halting operations in Iraq to save the lives of 10 of its employees being held captive. A statement issued by the firm in Turkish, Arabic and English stated that in line with a demand of the Iraqi insurgents who kidnapped the workers two weeks ago, the firm would freeze its work in Iraq. It also called on the Turkish government to take necessary measures to prevent such incidents which threaten the nation’s workers and drivers in the country. In addition, yesterday the corpse of another Turkish driver, Akar Besir, was found near Mosul. /Turkiye/[04] BARROSO: “TURKEY HAS MADE GREAT STRIDES IN ITS EU BID, BUT IT DOESN’T YET MEET ALL THE CRITERIA”Speaking to French daily Le Monde yesterday, new European Union Commission President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso said that Turkey had made great progress on its EU membership bid and that the EU recognized this, adding, however, that Ankara didn’t yet meet all the Union’s criteria. In related news, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini expressed support for Ankara beginning its accession talks with the Union. “We hope that the EU will make a positive decision at its December summit to begin Ankara’s accession talks,” added Frattini. /Turkiye/[05] EP’S BROK CALLS FOR 2-3 YEAR DELAY ON A DECISION ABOUT ANKARA’S TALKSElmar Brok, the chairman of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said yesterday that Ankara had not done its homework in enacting reforms to the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) and called for a decision on the beginning of Ankara’s membership talks to be delayed by two or three years. The EU is currently set to make a decision this December. Speaking at a press conference, Brok said that for a proper evaluation of whether Turkey had fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria, there was a need to look at the implementation of EU reforms, adding that implementation was a must to begin Ankara’s accession talks. /Aksam/[06] PRODI SPOKESMAN DENIES ARMENIAN BORDER CONDITION FOR TURKEY’S EU BIDThe European Union Commission yesterday adamantly denied rumors that the re- opening of the Turkish-Armenian border would be added as a precondition to beginning Ankara’s EU membership discussions. Marco Vignudelli, the spokesman for commission head Romano Prodi, said that Prodi had said nothing that would lead one to believe that such a condition would be placed on Turkey, calling such claims categorically false. Vignudelli further stressed that the border issue could only be resolved by dialogue between the two countries. /Turkiye/[07] AUSTRIAN PREMIER: “SAYING ‘THE TURKS ARE COMING’ IS A HISTORICAL LEFTOVER”Tolling the warning bells and saying “The Turks are coming” is not a responsible position on Turkey’s European Union membership bid, said Austrian Prime Minister Wolfgang Schuessel yesterday. The premier made the remarks in a rebuff of Heinz Christian Strache, leader of the Pro-Freedom Party and Schuessel’s coalition partner, who threatened this week to quit the coalition if Schuessel supports Ankara’s EU bid at the December EU summit, “This is not 1683,” added Schuessel, referring to the Ottoman siege of Vienna three centuries ago. “We will first wait for the EU Commission’s report and then discuss and later declare our decision.” Schuessel said that the issue should be discussed calmly. /Star/[08] EU SOCIALIST LEADER: “ACCESSION TALKS CAN’T BEGIN WITHOUT REFORMS”Martin Schulz, the leader of the European Parliament’s socialist group, said yesterday that Turkey’s EU accession talks couldn’t begin without it taking further reforms. “I am in favor of Turkish membership of the EU, but not at any price,” said Schulz. “The process of reforming the Turkish Penal Code [TCK] must be reopened. We cannot even contemplate the possibility of accession talks with Turkey until these reforms are in place,” added Schulz. “There is no place in the EU for a country that tolerates abuse of human rights. The proposal to make adultery illegal is totally unacceptable.” /Star/[09] CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ANNULS RTUK DRAFTThe Constitutional Court has annulled a section of draft regulations for the Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK). One of the regulations in question concerned Parliament choosing RTUK members. /Hurriyet/[10] CHP SEEKS EXTRAORDINARY SESSION FOR PARLIAMENT TO FINISH PENAL CODEThe opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) yesterday urged Parliament to reconvene next Tuesday for an extraordinary session to finish work on the new Turkish Penal Code (TCK). The proposal signed by 123 CHP deputies was given to the Office of the Parliament Speaker. “We will formally request that Parliament hold an extraordinary session on Sept. 28 to debate the two remaining provisions of the draft penal code,” said CHP leader Deniz Baykal. Calling on the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government to pass the bill through Parliament in just one hour, Baykal said that failure of the TCK reforms to pass before Oct. 6, the date the European Union Commission is to issue a report on Turkey, could destroy Ankara’s hopes of beginning EU accession talks. /Turkiye/[11] US ENERGY SECRETARY VISITS TURKEYUS Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham yesterday arrived in Istanbul as the guest of his Turkish counterpart Hilmi Guler. Calling Turkey a bridge nation for exports of natural gas and oil, Guler said that Ankara and Washington could work on important projects together. “The US government is always ready to cooperate with Turkey in the energy field,” said Abraham. /Sabah/[12] IMF DELEGATION MEETS WITH TREASURY UNDERSECRETARY TO DISCUSS RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTSA visiting International Monetary Fund delegation chaired by IMF Turkey Desk Chief Riza Moghadam yesterday met with Treasury Undersecretary Ibrahim Canakci to discuss recent economic developments. In related news, speaking at a conference in Izmir, State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan touted Turkey’s recent economic stability and added that the government had reached all of its goal since it came to power. /Aksam/[13] FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS[14] CRITICAL COMMUNIQUÉ FROM BRUSSELS BY ZEYNEP GURCANLI (STAR)Columnist Zeynep Gurcanli writes on Turkey’s European Union membership bid. A summary of her column is as follows:“The reason why Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will go to Brussels one day earlier than expected is a communiqué recently sent to Ankara from Brussels. The message was written by Turkey's permanent representative to the EU, Oguz Demiralp, who over the weekend met with EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen. ‘I expect the EU Commission to pursue a positive and constructive Turkey policy after my term expires,’ Verheugen reportedly stated, adding that he was satisfied with Erdogan’s recent statements. ‘It seems that I failed to explain the importance of penal code reform to Turkish officials during my visit to Ankara. The reform is a part of the Copenhagen criteria. Not only the adultery clause, but also many other provisions in the reform package constitute the essence of Ankara’s democratization efforts. Therefore, it’s not possible for EU decision-makers to make a decision in December to start Ankara’s membership talks before the penal code reform is passed by the Parliament.” During his meeting with Demiralp, Verheugen went one step further and asked Ankara exactly when Parliament will pass the reform package. After receiving Demiralp’s communiqué, Ankara sped up its preparations for the premier’s Brussels visit. Therefore, Erdogan has reportedly decided to tell the EU Commission and the European Parliament when the suspended provisions are scheduled to be debated and passed by Parliament. He is expected to convey the following message to the EU decision-makers: ‘The penal code is very important for Turkish citizens, as one of our country’s fundamental laws. The spirit of the new code conforms to EU norms and regulations. The new code has already been passed by the Parliament, with only two provisions concerning the application of the law currently suspended.’ He is also expected to tell the EU officials that even if Parliament fails to pass the entire reform package prior to the EU Commission’s progress report due out on Oct. 6, his government is resolved to complete the process before the EU’s December summit where EU leaders will make a decision on starting Turkey’s membership talks.” [15] THE CHP’S INITIATIVE BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)Columnist Fikret Bila comments on the efforts of the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP). A summary of his column is as follows:“Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal has repeated his call for Parliament to pass the new Turkish Penal Code (TCK) before Oct. 6 and urged it to hold an extraordinary session next Tuesday. When we spoke yesterday, Baykal said, ‘I hope Mr. Erdogan can realize the value of our acting responsibly.’ He told me that Erdogan’s current course defies logic and common sense and was upsetting both Brussels and the economy in the process. ‘The way out of this is to pass the TCK law,’ he added. ‘Mr. Erdogan is acting emotionally. We’re in erupted, the Oct. 6 report would have been very positive. However, if this stance continues and the new TCK isn’t passed, the report might be quite negative.’ Why did Erdogan stake everything? An answer of ‘due to adultery’ doesn’t seem satisfactory. Some people argue that Erdogan wouldn’t risk Turkey’s date for EU membership talks over adultery alone and that other reasons must be behind it. Others think that Erdogan took a tactical step in order to increase Turkey’s bargaining power. AKP Deputy Zekeriya Akcam also said that the EU might ask Ankara for a new definition of minorities and that Brussels often thinks that the Kurds aren’t represented in our Parliament. Akcam also thinks that the EU might request a definition of religious minorities. Similarly, the EU might ask us to cease leaving arrangements about cultural rights up to local administrations. Those who think the EU might ask for these things believe that that’s why Erdogan wanted to stake all and increase Turkey’s bargaining power. Some believe that if the EU includes these conditions in the report, it will be impossible for Turkey to accept them and negotiations will stop before they start. If the EU acts insistently, Erdogan might go back to the ‘Ankara criteria.’ Today the real dimensions of the problem will become clear. In other words, Erdogan’s contacts in Brussels will be the first step towards understanding these dimensions.” 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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