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Turkish Press Review, 04-10-15Turkish 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 morning15.10.2004ERDOGAN MEETS WITH OZKOK, OTHER OFFICIALS ERDOGAN: “THOUGH THE EU REPORT HAS NEGATIVE ASPECTS, I’M FOCUSING ON THE POSITIVE” PARLIAMENTARIANS’ FRENCH VISIT SEEKS SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S EU BID ENERGY MINISTER RECEIVES RUSSIAN ENVOY TO DISCUSS BILATERAL TIES AND OIL PIPELINES TALAT: “TURKEY MUST STAND FIRM ON THE CYPRUS ISSUE” CAKICI EXTRADITED TO TURKEY BLAIR: “TURKEY’S EU ENTRY WILL BOOST THE STABILITY AND SECURITY OF THE REGION” GERMAN CONSERVATIVE MERKEL ABANDONS ANTI-TURKEY CAMPAIGN TURKISH HOSTAGE BEHEADED IN IRAQ; TWO MORE KIDNAPPED EP’S EURLINGS BEGINS FACT-FINDING SOUTHEAST TOUR FRENCH PM: “TURKEY ISN’T READY FOR EU MEMBERSHIP, BUT WE SHOULDN’T EXCLUDE IT” FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS THE REAL TEST FOR THE EU BY ERGUN BABAHAN (SABAH) NOW WE FACE THE KAPLAN PROBLEM BY TUFAN TURENC (HURRIYET)CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH OZKOK, OTHER OFFICIALSPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met with Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok. In addition to Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, also in attendance at the meeting were Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug, Turkey’s special envoy to Iraq Osman Koruturk, and Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ali Tuygan. During their three-hour-plus meeting, the top officials focused on the recent situation in Iraq, and in particular the security problems of Turks there, as well as last week’s historic European Union Commission report on Turkey. /Star/[02] ERDOGAN: “THOUGH THE EU REPORT HAS NEGATIVE ASPECTS, I’M FOCUSING ON THE POSITIVE”Appearing on Greek television yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that though there were negative aspects to last week’s historic European Union’s progress report, he was trying to instead focus on its positive side. “We’ll evaluate the negative aspects with EU leaders in the leadup to December’s EU summit and try to reach common ground,” he said. Asked about the possibility of Greek Cyprus trying to block Ankara’s accession talks, Erdogan stressed that Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos had promised him that he would support Turkey’s EU bid. “He assured me that we wouldn’t face obstructionism,” said the premier. In related news, Erdogan yesterday attended the ground-breaking of a new wing at Ankara’s Esenboga Airport expected to be completed within two years. /Cumhuriyet/[03] PARLIAMENTARIANS’ FRENCH VISIT SEEKS SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S EU BIDA delegation from the Turkish-European Union Joint Parliamentary Commission traveled to France yesterday seeking support from their French counterparts for Turkey’s EU membership. Speaking to a conference at the Center for French International Affairs, Aydin Dumanoglu argued that the EU would be more powerful with the addition of Turkey, adding that the Union, not just Turkey, needed this membership. In addition, opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Onur Oymen urged French politicians not to use Turkey’s EU membership bid for domestic political fodder. /Star/[04] ENERGY MINISTER RECEIVES RUSSIAN ENVOY TO DISCUSS BILATERAL TIES AND OIL PIPELINESEnergy and Natural Sources Minister Hilmi Guler yesterday received Igor Yusufov, a special envoy from the Russian Foreign Ministry, to discuss bilateral relations, including the subject of oil pipelines. Speaking afterwards, Guler said that they had discussed two possible pipelines, one from Samsun to Ceyhan and the other from Thrace to the Aegean region. “We discussed the pluses and minuses of both,” added Guler. /Cumhuriyet/[05] TALAT: “TURKEY MUST STAND FIRM ON THE CYPRUS ISSUE”Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday warned that Turkey would completely lose the cause of Cyprus if Ankara accepts Greek Cypriot demands for official recognition. “Turkey must resist the EU on such issues as maintaining its troops on the island,” he said. “If Turkey gives in on such issues, it will utterly lose the Cyprus cause.” /Milliyet/[06] CAKICI EXTRADITED TO TURKEYAlaattin Cakici, who is accused of heading a criminal organization, was extradited by Austria to Turkey yesterday. This was the second major extradition in less than a week, following extremist Metin Kaplan’s arrival from Germany on Monday. After facing an Istanbul judge, Cakici was taken an F-type prison in Tekirdag. He will face charges involving seven separate cases, including the murder of his ex-wife and corruption in state tenders. After fleeting from Turkey for a second time, Cakici was arrested in Graz, Austria this summer. /Turkiye/[07] BLAIR: “TURKEY’S EU ENTRY WILL BOOST THE STABILITY AND SECURITY OF THE REGION”In an interview with German daily Bild yesterday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair predicted that Turkey's entry into the European Union would boost stability and security in the region and bring advantages to all of Europe. Stressing that he was strongly in favor of Turkey’s membership although more reforms lie ahead of it, Blair said that he thought it would take at least 10 years before it could join. “A stable, democratic Turkey in the EU is extremely important for the stability and security of the region,” he added. “It would be a great win for Europe.” Blair underlined that anti-Turkey circles, in particular Germany's conservative Christian Democrats, should keep in mind that Europe had held out the prospect of membership since 1963. “Turkey can only join the EU when it fulfils the necessary criteria,” added the British leader. “Turkey doesn't want any special treatment and won't get it. This Turkish government has pushed through radical changes to firm up democracy, respect human rights and create stability as a precondition for prosperity.” At its December summit, EU leaders will make a final decision whether to start Turkey’s membership talks, following a green light from the European Commission last week. /Hurriyet/[08] GERMAN CONSERVATIVE MERKEL ABANDONS ANTI-TURKEY CAMPAIGNGerman opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Angela Merkel has reportedly abandoned her plan to launch an anti-Turkey campaign involving a petition drive against the country’s full membership. German politics had been rocked by Merkel’s proposed anti-Turkey campaign, with her move denounced by many as demagogic populism. Christian Democrat Elmar Brok, head of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said the proposal had given him “stomachaches.” In addition, Volker Beck, parliamentary leader of the Green Party, branded the initiative “foul” and “irresponsible.” German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder also weighed in, saying that for him, the strategic and security factors favoring Ankara's EU bid were decisive. It was in the face of such harsh criticism that Merkel decided to shelve her plan, a decision which is expected to be officially announced today. /Hurriyet/[09] TURKISH HOSTAGE BEHEADED IN IRAQ; TWO MORE KIDNAPPEDA video showing the apparent beheading of a Turkish hostage in Iraq yesterday appeared on the website of the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, an Iraqi militant group. In the video, the Turkish driver sat blindfolded with four masked gunmen behind him, one of whom said his group was sworn to oppose “the crusaders and those who aid them.” The video warned foreigners against coming to Iraq “to reap cheap worldly profits through allying themselves with the crusaders in their war on Islam.” In related news, Iraqi police announced that two more Turkish truckers bringing supplies to US forces in the country had been kidnapped by Iraqi militants. /Sabah/[10] EP’S EURLINGS BEGINS FACT-FINDING SOUTHEAST TOURCamiel Eurlings, a Christian Democrat European Parliamentarian from the Netherlands, yesterday arrived in Turkey for a five-day fact-finding tour at the Strasbourg Parliament’s behest. Eurlings is expected to visit Mardin and Diyarbakir, and his report is to be discussed by the EP’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Oct. 26. The EP’s General Assembly will debate Eurlings’ report on Dec. 2 prior to the EU’s Dec. 17 summit where a final decision on whether to start Turkey’s membership talks is due. /Sabah/[11] FRENCH PM: “TURKEY ISN’T READY FOR EU MEMBERSHIP, BUT WE SHOULDN’T EXCLUDE IT”Addressing France’s National Assembly yesterday, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said that the European Union shouldn’t leave Turkey out of the Union and thus leave it “without hope.” During his speech, Raffarin warned of the drawbacks of rejecting Ankara’s EU bid, adding, however, that neither Turkey nor the EU was ready for full membership. "Turkey remains very far from Europe today, politically, economically and socially," he told the French Parliament at the start of a parliamentary debate. “I don't think that Europe is ready for Turkey's entrance to the EU. Europe has just enlarged, it should integrate its new members before thinking of another enlargement," he said. For his part, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier warned that rejecting Turkey would mean rejecting the Turkish Republic and looking down on the Turkish nation. /Aksam/ [12] FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS[13] THE REAL TEST FOR THE EU BY ERGUN BABAHAN (SABAH)Columnist Ergun Babahan comments on Turkish-European Union relations and former Democratic Party (DEP) Deputy Leyla Zana’s recent speech in Brussels accepting the Sakharov Prize. A summary of his column is as follows:“Turkey is healing the wounds of its recent past. Following the events of the last 20 years, the current situation lends hopes for the future. Former Democratic Party (DEP) Deputy Leyla Zana was imprisoned for 12 years after she tried to take her Parliament oath of office in Kurdish, and her recent speech in Brussels should be evaluated from this standpoint. The speech might carry certain elements which would disturb different sectors of society for various reasons. During this process, the Turkish nation will learn how to live with views which don’t threaten its existence. Actually the nation could internalize them. In spite of the efforts of certain circles in Turkey and during a period of intensive conflict, there was no Turkish-Kurdish tension. Everybody cursed terrorism and cried for martyrs but nobody considered Abdullah Ocalan and his band to be a nation. When we look at Zana’s speech in Brussels from this perspective, one of the most important things was that she didn’t hold any grudge despite her 12 years in prison. The most striking point of the speech was Zana’s stance supporting Turkey’s EU membership process. Turkey has implemented a series of reforms under the Copenhagen criteria in order to become an EU member. The pressure on different sectors of the nation seeking more democracy, like the Kurds, has fallen greatly thanks to these reforms. Now European politicians who question and even oppose Turkey’s EU membership should consider the situation in terms of these sectors. Will the situation of Kurds, liberals, etc. be better if Turkey starts membership negotiations? Now everybody agrees that the EU is a project of peace. This includes not only countries living in peace with their neighbors, but also finding peace and welfare within their own nations. Now I ask the European politicians if they have the right to say to Zana, whom they awarded the Sakharov Prize, ‘We like you and support your efforts, but we can’t admit you’? Will you support Zana in the struggle for a more democratic and modern Turkey, or embrace those standing in her way? The EU is facing a test of its sincerity.” [14] NOW WE FACE THE KAPLAN PROBLEM BY TUFAN TURENC (HURRIYET)Columnist Tufan Turenc comments on Germany’s extradition this week of extremist Metin Kaplan. A summary of his column is as follows:“Turkey is ruled by a government whose domestic power is inversely proportional to its international sway. Let’s show this through giving examples. The most recent is Germany’s panicked extradition of Metin Kaplan, the self-declared ‘caliph’. For years Turkey asked for the extradition of Kaplan and his late father, because both were plotting the destruction of the Turkish Republic. They even formed a so-called ‘Anatolian Federal Islamic State’ with their expatriate community, and the elder Kaplan declared himself caliph. After the father’s death, his son took over the hollow title. All this was explained repeatedly to Germany, but since giving the Kaplans refuge and protection was in Germany’s interest, it didn’t even consider Ankara’s request. So what happened now to make Berlin extradite the so called-caliph in such a panic? According to German Interior Minister Otto Schily, this action symbolized the self-protection of Germany’s democracy. But why didn’t the same Germany show any respect for the self-protection of Turkish democracy? Another unusual development in Germany is that the leader of the main opposition Christian Democrats, Angela Merkel, launched a campaign against Turkey’s European Union membership bid. And there’s been a very strong reaction against Turkey’s EU bid in France. Our government hasn’t even reacted to this. The same goes for Iraq. The influence of Turkey in this country is falling. The US, our strategic partner, cooperates more with local tribes than Turkey. Terrorist groups don’t hesitate to behead Turks in the region. The official visits to other countries by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul are somehow not improving Turkey’s image. This means that there is something wrong with their policies.” 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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