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Turkish Press Review, 04-11-26
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
26.11.2004
FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER URGES MUSLIM COUNTRIES TO DEVELOP RELATIONS WITH THE TRNC
[02] ERDOGAN: “OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE TURKEY A LEADING COUNTRY IN THE REGION”
[03] IN ROME, GUL ATTENDS TURKISH-ITALIAN FORUM
[04] FRENCH PARLIAMENT HEAD TO VISIT TURKEY
[05] DUTCH FM: “ANKARA COULD BEGIN ITS EU TALKS BY THE END OF 2005 OR EARLY 2006”
[06] D’ESTAING PROPOSES “PRIVILEGED PARTNERSHIP,” NOT EU MEMBERSHIP, FOR TURKEY
[07] IMF’S RATO: “TURKEY’S ECONOMY IS ONE THE WORLD’S MOST DYNAMIC”
[08] ANKARA EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER UKRAINE’S ELECTION CRISIS
[09] YILMAZ MEETS WITH AUSTRIAN PRESIDENT IN VIENNA
[10] GREEK CYPRIOT FM SAYS NO PRECONDITION FOR TURKEY
[11] DENKTAS, TALAT CRITICIZE ATTEMPTS TO IMPOSE CYPRUS HURDLE ON ANKARA’S EU BID
[12] ANAP LEADER STEPS DOWN
[13] TURKISH WORKS TO BE EXHIBITED IN LONDON
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[15] A SUGGESTION FOR ERDOGAN BY TUFAN TURENC (HURRIYET)
[01] SEZER URGES MUSLIM COUNTRIES TO DEVELOP RELATIONS WITH THE TRNC
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday urged Muslim countries to take more
concrete steps to end the international isolation of the Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Speaking at a meeting of the Permanent Committee
for Economic and Trade Cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC), Sezer noted that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had told
the Security Council this summer that there was no reason to maintain the
isolation of Turkish Cypriots. “The time has come to develop relations with
Turkish Cypriots, a group which for 40 years has suffered under a host of
restrictions and embargoes.” /Turkiye/
[02] ERDOGAN: “OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE TURKEY A LEADING COUNTRY IN THE REGION”
Addressing a reception hosted by the Foreign Capital Association (YASED)
yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that his government’s
mid-term goal for the Turkish economy is to fulfill the Maastricht
criteria. “We’re determined to become a leading country, a model country in
our region,” he said. “Turkey’s position in the world economy and
international political scene is improving rapidly.” /Hurriyet/
[03] IN ROME, GUL ATTENDS TURKISH-ITALIAN FORUM
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday attended the Turkish-Italian Forum
in Rome. Before the gathering, Gul met with his Italian counterpart
Gianfranco Fini to discuss a number of issues, including Turkey’s European
Union accession talks. Later, addressing the forum, Fini said that he
wanted Ankara to begin its accession talks with the EU as soon as possible,
adding that Turkey’s full membership would benefit both sides. Fini further
stressed that Ankara’s negotiation process would ease a resolution on
Cyprus. For his part, Gul said that Turkey had done everything for its EU
membership bid, adding that now it was the EU’s turn. “We hope to begin our
membership talks in the first half of next year,” added Gul. /Milliyet/
[04] FRENCH PARLIAMENT HEAD TO VISIT TURKEY
Jean Louis Debre, the president of the French National Assembly, is soon to
pay an official visit to Turkey with an accompanying delegation expected to
include the group heads of the assembly’s political parties, including
Debre’s own ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) as well as the
socialists, communists and Greens. In an interview with French radio Inter,
Debre stated that Turkey must be accepted into the European Union. Debre
added that he wanted the party group heads to discuss Turkey’s EU
membership bid with Turkish officials. /Sabah/
[05] DUTCH FM: “ANKARA COULD BEGIN ITS EU TALKS BY THE END OF 2005 OR EARLY
2006”
Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot said yesterday that Ankara could begin
its accession talks with the European Union by the end of 2005 or by the
beginning of 2006. Addressing the European Affairs Commission, Bot said
that if EU leaders accept a “conditional yes” for Ankara’s membership talks,
then its negotiations could begin by the end of next year at the earliest.
A decision on Turkey’s talks will be reached at the Dec. 17 EU summit, with
Bot’s the Netherlands serving as EU term president. In related news, daily
French Le Figaro stated yesterday that in trying to postpone Ankara’s
accession talks, France was becoming isolated within the EU. /Milliyet/
[06] D’ESTAING PROPOSES “PRIVILEGED PARTNERSHIP,” NOT EU MEMBERSHIP, FOR
TURKEY
In an opinion piece written for French daily Le Figaro, former French
President Valery Giscard d’Estaing said yesterday that Turkey being an
overwhelming Muslim country was not an obstacle to its European Union
membership bid and could not be used as a basis for rejecting it. However,
he further claimed that Turkey was not a European country and that the EU
should propose a “privileged partnership” for it, rather than full Union
membership. D’Estaing further claimed that Turkey was not part of the
European continent, as only 5% of its land and 8% of its population are in
Europe. /Cumhuriyet/
[07] IMF’S RATO: “TURKEY’S ECONOMY IS ONE THE WORLD’S MOST DYNAMIC”
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Rodrigo Rato yesterday lauded
Turkey’s economy as one of the world’s most dynamic. Addressing a
conference in Spain, Rato stressed that the IMF’s role was to help
countries achieve economic stability, adding that Fund policies had found
success in Brazil and South Korea as well as Turkey. /Aksam/
[08] ANKARA EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER UKRAINE’S ELECTION CRISIS
“Ankara has been following recent developments in Ukraine with great
concern,” said a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry yesterday.
Pointing to the crisis following Ukraine’s weekend presidential elections,
the statement said that the country played an important role in the
security of both Europe and Eurasia. It said that Ankara hoped the high
tension in Ukraine would end soon through democratic means, adding that
Turkey wanted to strengthen ties with this country in all areas. /Turkiye/
[09] YILMAZ MEETS WITH AUSTRIAN PRESIDENT IN VIENNA
Former Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz yesterday met with Austrian President
Heinz Fischer in Vienna. “It would be unfair for the European Union to
start a negotiations process with Turkey which is open-ended,” said
Fischer. “After the Dec. 17 summit, Turkey’s ultimate goal must be full
membership. Shutting Turkey out of Europe would be a grave mistake.”
/Sabah/
[10] GREEK CYPRIOT FM SAYS NO PRECONDITION FOR TURKEY
Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister George Yakovu said yesterday that Ankara’s
recognition of Greek Cyprus was not a precondition for the beginning of its
accession talks. Speaking to reporters after meeting with German Foreign
Minister Joschka Fischer in Berlin, Yakovu said that Greek Cyprus would
take a positive stance as part of the European Union. “We are not putting
forth a precondition on Cyprus for a decision to be made for Ankara during
the December EU summit,” said the top Greek Cypriot top diplomat. /Star/
[11] DENKTAS, TALAT CRITICIZE ATTEMPTS TO IMPOSE CYPRUS HURDLE ON ANKARA’S
EU BID
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas yesterday
said that the EU cannot set the Cyprus issue as a precondition for Turkey’s
membership. “Nobody has the right to make the Cyprus issue an obstacle to
Turkey’s EU membership bid,” he stated. In related news, TRNC Prime
Minister Mehmet Ali Talat echoed Denktas’ views, stressing that no country
has the right to put pressure on Turkey to recognize the Greek Cypriot
Republic before a mutually acceptable agreement for the island is reached.
/Star/
[12] ANAP LEADER STEPS DOWN
Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Nesrin Nas resigned yesterday during the
party’sa Central Executive Council (MKYK) meeting. ANAP Presidential Board
members had earlier called on Nas to resign due to her efforts to push a
merger with the True Path Party (DYP). /Hurriyet/
[13] TURKISH WORKS TO BE EXHIBITED IN LONDON
A landmark exhibition entitled “Turks: A Journey of Thousand Years 600-
1600” is set to be open at London’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts on Jan 22.
The three-month exhibition will feature over 350 artworks produced by Turks,
including from the Seljuk and Ottoman periods, gathered from dozens of
museums worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.royalacademy.org.uk.
/Turkiye/
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[15] A SUGGESTION FOR ERDOGAN BY TUFAN TURENC (HURRIYET)
Columnist Tufan Turenc gives a suggestion to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan. A summary of his column is as follows:
“Oliver Stone is one of the world’s top directors, and his latest movie,
‘Alexander the Great,’ was just released this week. Actually Stone has some
amends to make since he got his start as a scriptwriter in 1978, when
director Alan Parker commissioned his services to turn a book a screenplay.
Stone rewrote the book, the film was shot, and then all hell broke loose.
The film? ‘Midnight Express.’ We rightfully criticized it, accusing both
the director and scriptwriter of being prejudiced against and enemies of
Turks. I saw the film, though it wasn’t shown in Turkey. Indeed, it was
unjust and insulting to our nation. However, it was widely acclaimed and
went on to win five Oscars. This movie accused our nation unfairly and
damaged our image, and these two men hurt Turkey in a way they never knew.
Some years ago, Parker told a reporter, ‘I treated Turks very unfairly. I
was young and I apologize to them.’ Parker added that if he had the
opportunity, he would like to make up for his mistake. Then Stone himself
became a director and made many important films. Today he’s one of the over
the film. ‘I’m unhappy with that movie,’ said Stone. ‘I want to make peace
with the Turkish people. I wanted to do ‘Alexander’s world premiere in
Turkey but people told me that Turks don’t like me. I was scared. Let me
visit Turkey and make amends. The movie was 26 years ago.’
Now I want to make a call to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Two
successful and famous Hollywood directors want to visit Turkey, make peace
with Turks and pay the price for the harm they did. This is a tremendous
opportunity, and Erdogan should take advantage of it. These two directors
should be invited to Turkey. Erdogan should propose facilities at their
disposal so they can shoot a film here. I believe that they would make a
very famous movie and undo the harm they did to Turkey with ‘Midnight
Express’. Such a film would be hugely influential.”
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