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Turkish Press Review, 04-10-26Turkish 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 morning26.10.2004FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN TRAVELING TO BERLIN FOR AIRBUS DEAL, EU BIDPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to travel to Berlin today to attend the ceremony finalizing a deal for Turkey to purchase 36 Airbus planes produced jointly by Germany and France. In addition to Erdogan, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will be present at the ceremony. During meetings with Chirac and Schoeder, Erdogan is expected to reiterate Ankara’s determination on the road to European Union membership and urge the leaders to begin negotiations in the first half of 2005. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who is currently touring European countries, is also scheduled to proceed to Berlin to attend the meetings and speak with his German counterpart Joschka Fischer. /Turkiye/[02] GUL TOURS EUROPEAN COUNTRIESIn Paris yesterday to attend the Mediterranean Forum, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul spoke to French reporters. Asked about the opposition of much of the French public to Turkey’s European Union membership, he stated, “France is a strong country both economically and culturally. That position doesn’t suit the French people.” Speaking later at the Mediterranean Forum, Gul pointed to the worsening situation in Iraq. He advised coalition forces to take into consideration the traditions and psychology of the Iraqis. After the meeting, Gul met with his French, Spanish and Tunisian counterparts. Proceeding to The Hague in the Netherlands, Gul met with Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot, whose country currently holds the EU presidency. Then he traveled to Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. After holding official contacts with Czech officials today, Gul is expected to proceed to Germany later this afternoon. /Turkiye/[03] ERDOGAN, GUL TO HELP USHER IN NEW EU CONSTITUTIONThe European Union’s new Constitution is due to be signed in Rome this Friday by the heads of state and government of the 25 member states as well as three candidate countries, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will travel to Italy to attend the signing ceremony. /Aksam/[04] PRINCE CHARLES, REOPENING ISTANBUL’S BRITISH CONSULATE, SPEAKS OF “UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY” OF TURKEY IN EUBritain’s Prince Charles reopened Britain's Istanbul consulate yesterday, almost a year after it was hit by an Al-Qaeda-linked suicide bombing that left 18 people dead, including British Consular-General Roger Short. The historic building was partly destroyed on Nov. 20, 2003 in twin bombings which also targeted the Istanbul headquarters of British-based bank HSBC. “Turkey has a unique opportunity to show the compatibility of Islamic values with secular democracy as it strives for EU membership,” said Prince Charles at the ceremony, where snipers were positioned on rooftops and security forces blocked off approaches to the building. “The opportunity facing Turkey now is an extraordinary one. You are in a position to demonstrate, once and for all, that secular democracy does not have to come at the expense of Islamic values. For many years, the United Kingdom has been one of Turkey's most steadfast supporters – in Europe and more widely. I know we will continue to provide that support in the years to come.” Also at the ceremony were Tourism Minister Erkan Mumcu, religious leaders including Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomeos, the mayor and governor of Istanbul, and a representative of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Afterwards, the prince visited an ancient sanctuary of whirling dervishes. He then flew to Ankara, where he met President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and had dinner with Erdogan, who called on Charles to invest in Turkish agriculture since he owns a company involved in organic farming. In Ankara, the prince also attended a dance workshop for the disabled sponsored by the British Council. Charles is due to briefly visit the southeastern city of Mardin today before flying on to Jordan. /Sabah/[05] TURKISH, ARMENIAN SCHOLARS TO DISCUSS GENOCIDE ALLEGATIONS IN VIENNAIn the first half of 2005, Turkey and Armenia are set for the first time to discuss the so-called Armenian genocide on an international stage. The historical evidence will be examined and discussed at an international seminar in Vienna, Austria with Turkey represented by Institute of History Professor Yusuf Halacoglu along with government officials. “We’ve been working hard to get prepared for the meeting,” Halacoglu said. “Its findings will be seen by the whole world.” /Hurriyet/[06] AUSTRIAN PRESIDENT FISCHER: “TURKEY’S MEMBERSHIP TALKS MUST BEGIN”Austrian President Heinz Fischer yesterday expressed his support for Turkey’s European Union membership bid. “I believe that Turkey’s EU membership talks must begin,” Fischer said. “A possible date for the Turkish entry must also be announced. Although Turkey has yet to develop itself sufficiently to join the ranks of the Union, for my country – which has a sizeable Turkish population – the possibility is very exciting.” In related news, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday reiterated his support for Ankara’s EU aspirations, underlining that he had personally worked very hard to change the prejudices of certain Italians about Turkey. /Sabah/[07] AIR FORCE COMMANDER MEETS HIS FRENCH COUNTERPARTTurkish Air Force Commander Gen. Ibrahim Firtina yesterday met with his French counterpart Gen. Richard Wolsztynski in Ankara. Gen. Firtina stated that next year, France was planning to participate in the Anatolian Eagle Exercises for the first time in its history. France is among foreign countries wishing to cooperate with Turkey on certain military issues. /Sabah/[08] FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER: “DISCUSSIONS ABOUT TURKEY’S EU BID ARE NORMAL”Following the Mediterranean Forum in Paris, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier held a press conference. Commenting on recent public discussion in France regarding Turkey’s prospective European Union membership, Barnier said that discussing the matter was normal and better than remaining silent. He stated that during the forum, the foreign ministers from 11 countries had focused on the Iraq issue, the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the fight against terrorism and regional cooperation. /Turkiye/[09] GREEK CYPRIOT FM: “UNDER CURRENT CONDITIONS, THE EU CANNOT BEGIN NEGOTIATIONS WITH TURKEY”Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister George Yakovu said yesterday that under current conditions it would be illegal for the European Union to begin membership negotiations with Ankara. Appearing on Greek Cypriot TV, Yakovu stated that if Ankara didn’t recognize Greek Cyprus and withdraw its troops from the island by December, his administration would oppose to submission of a date to Turkey to begin talks. /Star/[10] TRNC’S EROGLU TO MEET WITH PREMIER TALATTurkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) National Unity Party (UBP) leader Dervis Eroglu is set today to meet with Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader and current Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat to seek ways to establish a new coalition government. Eroglu was assigned to form a new government by President Rauf Denktas after last week’s resignation of the CTP-Democratic Party (DP) coalition. /Star/[11] NEW LIRA UNVEILED TO PUBLIC; ERDOGAN SEEKS PUBLIC AND BUSINESS SUPPORT FOR REVAMPED CURRENCYThe new Turkish lira, set to begin officially circulating next year, was unveiled to the public yesterday at a press conference. The new lira and the old one are due to circulate together next year. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters that the new currency would boost Turkey’s atmosphere of stability and confidence and that he hoped both the public and business would do their best to preserve the new lira’s value. “Let’s work together to lift the value of our currency and head off possible rises in inflation,” said Erdogan. For his part, State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan hailed the striking of six zeros from the lira as a needed reform and predicted that the nation would embrace the new lira. Babacan further stressed that there was no need to worry about inflation. /Aksam/[12] IMF URGES CONTINUED EFFORTS TO REDUCE CURRENT ACCOUNTS DEFICITInternational Monetary Fund Managing Director Rodrigo Rato said yesterday that Turkey should continue to pursue efforts to reduce its high current accounts deficit and further praised Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s commitment to extend the 6.5% primary surplus target into next year. In related news, State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan said yesterday that negotiations with IMF officials on a possible new standby agreement would continue next month, adding that the new deal would be presented to the European Union by Dec. 1. /Aksam/[13] EDELMAN: “THE US FULLY SUPPORTS TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BID”Speaking at a meeting of the Izmir Chamber of Trade yesterday, US Ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman said that Washington fully supports Ankara’s European Union membership bid, adding that Turkey joining the EU would create new opportunities for both European and US companies. Edelman also conveyed, however, complaints from US investors of copyright violations and inequality in Turkey’s legal system. He further cautioned that even if Ankara gets a date from the EU at its December summit to begin accession talks, attracting foreign capital would take time. /Milliyet/[14] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…[15] KERRY VS. BUSH INTERNATIONALLY BY NURAY BASARAN (AKSAM)Columnist Nuray Basaran comments on next week’s US presidential elections and their influence on Turkey. A summary of her column is as follows:“Turkey should closely follow and evaluate next week’s US presidential elections. In the tradition of such elections, the candidates try new arguments as election day draws near. Democrat John Kerry is talking about employment, the economy, health care and other domestic and social issues, all of which are resonating with the American people. However, Bush is focusing on national security and the war against terrorism. Although Bush says that he’s doing his best to protect the US’ borders and harbors, the evidence says otherwise. In addition, Kerry’s stance on terrorism and national security isn’t satisfying the American people. The two candidates’ views on US strategy and goals in Iraq are nearly identical. Actually the US has few options. The other coalition forces want to leave Iraq, but the US doesn’t have this luxury. It has to finish the game which it started, and this will continue after the elections. In light of these observations, although Turkey has nothing to prefer or offer, it should take the above-mentioned issues into consideration and prepare for the US and the foreign stage in the best way possible. Whatever happens, Turkey will sharply feel the ripples from this election.” [16] ONE SIDED OR MUTUAL? BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)Columnist Taha Akyol comments on the so-called Armenian genocide. A summary of his column is as follows:“In 1919, writer Ziya Gokalp told the following to a military court about the Armenian issue: ‘It wasn’t one-sided, the massacre was mutual!’ In two books, ‘Death and Exile: The Ethnic Cleansing of Muslims 1821-1922’ and ‘Muslims and Minorities,’ Professor Justin McCarthy wrote about Muslim- Christian clashes and massacres between which resulted in 5 million Muslim deaths. He researched not only the Ottoman archives, but also made extensive use of reports of the British Consulate. McCarthy characterizes the incidents which began with the 1915 Armenian revolt as a ‘war between communities.’ The real issue is the ‘Ottoman response’ to the massacres which the Armenians started. There were more Muslim deaths (Death and Exile, p. 217). The Bosnians lived through the last massacre in the Balkans. Europe just sat and watched this until NATO intervened! In his book ‘The World’s Banker, ’ Sebastian Mallaby wrote about the World Bank’s failure to respond and the efforts of Kemal Dervis, later an economy minister but then a WB official, to save the Bosnians. Through Dervis’ efforts, the WB eventually decided to help Bosnia’s reconstruction, which encouraged NATO to intervene. French daily Le Monde asked Dervis his opinion about the so-called Armenian genocide. Dervis expressed his concerns about the incidents and reminded them of Muslim massacres. The truth about the Armenian question is that it wasn’t a one-sided reaction, but a mutual massacre. If you act as if nothing happened, then people label the incidents ‘genocide.’ Moreover, we have to remind the West of the ‘Muslim Massacre.’ The massacre, which began in 1821 on the Danube and continued until 1995 in Bosnia… I wish there were more Turkish people like Dervis working in the WB, the International Monetary Fund, the UN and OECD.” 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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