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Turkish Press Review, 04-12-13Turkish 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 morning13.12.2004FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…CONTENTS
[01] SEZER: “TURKEY SHOULD PRESERVE THE TURKISH AERONAUTICAL ASSOCIATION”Turkey should work to preserve the Turkish Aeronautical Association (THK), said President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday. Addressing a THK meeting, Sezer lauded the group as one of the Turkish Republic’s cornerstone organizations, adding that the development of aeronautics is closely related to the nation’s security and economic development. /Hurriyet/[02] ERDOGAN VISITS KONYA, STRESSES ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTSPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accompanied by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and other officials paid a visit to the central Anatolian city of Konya over the weekend. Speaking to a Local Administrations Meeting at the city’s Culture Center, Erdogan said that Ankara wanted to join the European Union and expected a positive decision at this week’s historic EU summit. “In case of a negative outcome, something which is extremely unlikely, we’ll continue to follow our path by re-naming the Copenhagen criteria as the Ankara criteria.” said Erdogan. He added that local governments have a great responsibility in the country’s development and that when they function well, the citizenry is satisfied. Later Erdogan attended a ground breaking ceremony for a 2,000-plus-unit mass housing project and the opening of a Mevlana Culture Center. /Turkiye/[03] PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE PENAL ENFORCEMENT BILLParliament’s General Assembly is set this week to debate a 124-article Penal Enforcement Bill as a final legal adjustment before the crucial end- week European Union summit. In addition, during tomorrow’s session, Parliament is expected to take up an opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) motion concerning Turkey’s EU membership bid. /Turkiye/[04] EP TO DISCUSS TURKEY REPORTThe European Parliament is set to today debate a report on Turkey just days before the historic fall European Union summit. The report prepared by Dutch Christian Democrat MEP Camiel Eurlings recommends that the EU begin accession talks with Ankara without further delay. /Turkiye/[05] TWO KEY MEETINGS SLATED IN RUNUP TO SUMMITTwo pivotal meetings setting the stage for the historic end-week European Union summit are to be held in Brussels tomorrow. First, the EU foreign ministers will discuss the Union’s last draft statement on Ankara’s possible accession talks, an issue which will be the focus of the summit. Second, in Strasbourg the European Parliament’s General Assembly will debate MEP Camiel Eurlings’ recent report on Turkey. /Aksam/[06] BELGIAN PM TO PUSH TURKEY’S EU TALKS WITH CHIRACBelgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt is due to meet with French President Jacques Chirac on Wednesday in Brussels, reportedly in an effort to persuade him to unambiguously support Ankara’s European Union accession talks at this week’s historic EU summit. Verhofstadt will also meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Brussels on the same day. /Aksam/[07] TURKISH AMBASSADORS TO KEY EU STATES TO MEET IN BRUSSELSTurkey’s Ambassadors to London, Paris, Berlin, The Hague and Madrid as well as its permanent representative to the EU, Oguz Demiralp, will convene in Brussels tomorrow to discuss Turkey’s prospective accession talks. The ambassadors will also evaluate what should be done concerning the decision on Turkey’s talks expected at this week’s historic EU summit. /Aksam/[08] BAYKAL CALLS ON GOVT TO STAY DETERMINED ON TURKEY’S ACCESSION TALKSOpposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said yesterday that since Turkey had fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria set out by the European Union, any proposal made at this week’s historic EU summit besides full membership should be rejected. He called on the government to stay fixed on the goal of Ankara’s accession talks but to have a backup plan should the summit’s results prove disappointing. “It should stay determined on this matter,” added Baykal. /Cumhuriyet/[09] AGAR CHARGES EU CONDITIONS AMOUNT TO LESS THAN FULL MEMBERSHIPPermanent restrictions on the free movement of Turkish workers and lack of financial support for agriculture aim to make Turkey a “special partner” rather than a full member of the European Union, charged True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar yesterday. “A decision which ignores Turkey’s rights and presses for a de facto special partnership is not acceptable.” said Agar. /Star/[10] BAHCELI: “THE GOVT IS MAKING TOO MANY CONCESSIONS FOR EU MEMBERSHIP”Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday charged that the government was making too many concessions for the sake of Turkey’s European Union membership bid. “The government is pushing for the acceptance of EU criteria rather than making the EU accept Turkey,” Bahceli said. /Star/[11] TUSIAD HEAD URGES EU LEADERS ON ANKARA’S ACCESSION TALKSTurkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) head Omer Sabanci yesterday sent a letter to leaders of European Union member states urging the EU at its historic summit later this week to give a date for the start of Ankara’s accession talks with the aim of full membership. In the letter, Sabanci said that the European Council’s decision on Turkey’s entry talks would mark the beginning of a new era in Turkish-EU relations. /Cumhuriyet/[12] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…[13] REACTING TO KURDS BY H. BULENT KAHRAMAN (RADIKAL)Columnist H. Bulent Kahraman comments on Turkey’s democracy and Kurdish groups. A summary of his column is as follows: “The ads taken out last week by leading Kurdish groups in the International Herald Tribune and Le Monde set off a firestorm in our country. They outlined what Kurds living in Turkey want from Ankara in its European Union membership bid. I don’t agree with the content of the ads. I do believe that their timing was off, and that since Leyla Zana and her friends were released Kurdish groups have been making a series of missteps. However, I don’t think that their methods are wrong. On the contrary, we should insist that such methods are indeed useful and necessary. Groups can use the foreign press to express their ideas. If necessary, Turkey could do the same. Ankara is arguing that the ads treated it unfairly, ignoring the recent democratization efforts. I believe that the steps that we’ve taken up to now are very important. But let me ask you a question: Why should everyone agree with me? These steps might not satisfy all groups and all people. There may be some who are dissatisfied with Turkey’s reforms and they might use this method to express their disappointment. What we should do now is to discuss their views calmly. However, Turkey’s immediate reaction to the ads was like a reflex action, because whenever our problems are put into the international spotlight we get angry and frustrated since we prefer to keep them behind closed door. This attitude springs from our introverted, communitarian and corporatist social structure. However, now is the time for open discussions. We need to embrace such processes if we want to transform ourselves into an open society. There’s no point in branding the people who took out the ads as ‘separatists’ just because they preferred to air their grievances in the foreign press. They might be separatists, but here the problems they are discussing are Turkey’s. We must find solutions to these problems which can satisfy not only domestic groups but also the international community. I personally believe that the Kurdish issue cannot be resolved by either separatism or Kurdish nationalism, which is exactly why I want separatists and Kurdish nationalists to come out and express their views very clearly. Any resolution, I think, will emerge from a process of persuasion and democratic negotiations. Such a participatory and two-way system is the foundation of all democratic ideals worldwide.” [14] WHAT SORT OF A KURDISH INTELLECTUAL? BY CUNEYT ULSEVER (HURRIYET)Columnist Cuneyt Ulsever comments on ads taken out last week containing a declaration by Kurdish intellectuals. A summary of his column is as follows: “When terrorist PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was being brought into Turkish custody as a result of cooperation with the US, he surprised us with his statements. He expressed his devotion to the Turkish state, which before he had declared an enemy, in such exaggerated terms that I said to myself, ‘I’m not even that devoted to the state!’ Now he makes such Kemalist statements that I can’t help asking, ‘Maybe this country can’t cultivate scientists to win the Nobel prize, but can’t it at least produce proper terrorists?’ Now some Kurdish intellectuals proclaim Kurds’ wishes in foreign newspapers. I won’t ask why these intellectuals believe they have the right and the permission to publish such ads. I even won’t question the context of the ads. These people think that they have the right to make a claim on behalf of a group. They worked on the declaration for two months and consider themselves clever by publishing it on the eve of this week’s European Union summit. From the statements of the people who signed the ads, I gathered the following: 1. As soon as they heard criticisms, some of them were frightened and withdrew their signatures, or 2. Some manipulated others to sign the ads, or 3. Some are so ignorant that they signed the declaration without reading it. There is no fourth possibility. When we look at the criticisms after the ads’ publication, one of the above possibilities must be true. In any case, there is only one conclusion: scandal! For those who stand behind their signatures I apologize for them, but the Kurdish issue is now in the hands of such people. Do these people act on behalf of Kurds? Must Kurds take these people seriously? Will they trust them? Are they intellectuals? Are they Kurdish intellectuals? I say sincerely that I feel humiliated on behalf of my Kurdish friends due to this confusion.” 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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