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Turkish Press Review, 04-12-30
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
30.12.04
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this
morning
CONTENTS
[01] AKP PARLIAMENTARY GROUP MEETS
[02] GUL TO TRAVEL TO MIDEAST IN PUSH FOR PEACE
[03] FOREIGN MINISTRY: “75 TURKS REMAIN MISSING IN SOUTHEAST ASIA”
[04] NSC TO DISCUSS CYPRUS, TURKEY’S EU BID, IRAQ
[05] DEPUTY SEC’Y OF STATE ARMITAGE TO MEET WITH GUL, ARINC AND OZKOK
[06] US STATE DEPARTMENT: “TURKEY IS FREE TO ESTABLISH TIES WITH ITS NEIGHBORS”
[07] CHP INQUIRY MOTION INTO EDUCATION MINISTER REJECTED
[08] ANOTHER TURKISH TRUCK DRIVER KILLED IN IRAQ
[09] GREEK CYPRIOT FM: “COME FEBRUARY, I EXPECT MORE EFFORTS FOR A CYPRUS DEAL”
[10] AGAR: “RAISING DEPUTIES’ SALARIES WOULD BE WRONG”
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[12] THE TRNC AND TALAT BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
[13] A SPECIALIST BY BURHAN AYERI (AKSAM)
[01] AKP PARLIAMENTARY GROUP MEETS
The ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) parliamentary group
chaired by Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan convened yesterday. During the two-
hour meeting, the group discussed an inquiry motion into Education Minister
Huseyin Celik submitted by the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Erdogan said that there had been no irregularities in Education Ministry
bids and urged the AKP deputies to lend Celik their support, adding that
his post and the education ministry were frequent targets for political
fire. Responding to criticisms of the new minimum wage announced this week,
Erdogan said that his administration was also aware that the wage hike was
insufficient. “We did our best with what the possibilities at hand,” said
the premier. /Turkiye/
[02] GUL TO TRAVEL TO MIDEAST IN PUSH FOR PEACE
During a visit to Israel and Palestine set for next week, Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul will signal to Israeli and Palestinian officials that Turkey
is ready to move the peace process in the region forward. Speaking to
reporters at a press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan told
reporters that Gul was set to travel to the Mideast just after the New
Year. Pointing to presidential elections in Palestine set for Jan. 9, Tan
said that in addition to Palestinian officials, Gul is scheduled to meet
with Israel’s president, premier and foreign minister. /Star/
[03] FOREIGN MINISTRY: “75 TURKS REMAIN MISSING IN SOUTHEAST ASIA”
Some 75 Turks remain missing in Southeast Asia in the wake of the weekend
earthquake-tsunami disaster, Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan told
reporters in Ankara yesterday. They are among more than 4,000 overseas
tourists still missing three days after the world’s biggest earthquake in
decades. Since 10-meter waves destroyed roads, bridges and communications
equipment, many of the missing are out of reach. Declining to confirm any
deaths, Tan said officials were still trying to contact 41 Turkish citizens
in Thailand, five in Malaysia, seven in India, four in Myanmar, four in Sri
Lanka, five in the Maldives, two in Singapore and seven in Indonesia. “As
lines of communication have broken down in the affected regions, for now
it’s better to say that these people cannot be contacted rather than
counting them as casualties,” Tan said. He added that Ankara was sending $1
million in aid to the region, though the best way to convey it was still
under discussion. Red Crescent (Kizilay) head Talat Yilmaz said that the
group would provide in-cash aid to the region within one week. In related
news, two search and rescue teams (AKUT) have been dispatched to Sri Lanka
upon the request of its government. /Sabah, Hurriyet/
[04] NSC TO DISCUSS CYPRUS, TURKEY’S EU BID, IRAQ
The National Security Council (NSC) is due to convene today to discuss a
number of domestic and foreign issues, including Cyprus, Turkey’s European
Union membership bid, and Iraq. The meeting will be chaired by President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer. /Hurriyet/
[05] DEPUTY SEC’Y OF STATE ARMITAGE TO MEET WITH GUL, ARINC AND OZKOK
US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who is due to arrive in
Turkey next week for an official visit, is expected to meet next Monday
with Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok to discuss bilateral military
ties. Later, Armitage is due to meet separately with Foreign Minister
Abdulah Gul and Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc to discuss a number of
issues, including relations between Ankara and Washington. /Milliyet/
[06] US STATE DEPARTMENT: “TURKEY IS FREE TO ESTABLISH TIES WITH ITS
NEIGHBORS”
Speaking at a Tuesday press conference, US State Department spokesman Adam
Ereli said that notwithstanding Washington’s strained relations with
countries such as Syria, Turkey was free to establish ties with its
neighbors as it sees fit. Asked about recent progress in Ankara’s relations
with Damascus, including a new free trade agreement, Ereli said, "Turkey is
free to have the kind of bilateral relationships that it wants with the
countries of the region. It's not our position to comment on that. If the
subject of Syria is raised [during Deputy Secretary of State Richard
Armitage's upcoming visit to Ankara] ... we would obviously reiterate our
position on Syria and on both insofar as it relates to Iraq as well as it
relates to other countries in the region. But those are positions, I think,
which you know very well, which we've been very candid about ... And as far
as what Turkey does with Syria, that's between Turkey and Syria." /Aksam/
[07] CHP INQUIRY MOTION INTO EDUCATION MINISTER REJECTED
Parliament’s General Assembly yesterday debated and then voted an inquiry
motion submitted by the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) into
Education Minister Huseyin Celik, who was accused of corruption state in
bidding. Speaking to deputies, Celik denied the allegations, adding that
contracts for school construction should not always be awarded to the
lowest bidder. “The motion is a politically motivated one, and I can give
an account of everything I did,” said Celik. In a secret ballot, the motion
was rejected with 304 votes. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] ANOTHER TURKISH TRUCK DRIVER KILLED IN IRAQ
Iraqi officials stated yesterday that a Turkish truck driver had been
killed in Samarra as the result of an armed attack. The identity of the
victim was not given. The number of Turkish citizens killed in the country
since the beginning of the Iraq war now stands at over 70. /Star/
[09] GREEK CYPRIOT FM: “COME FEBRUARY, I EXPECT MORE EFFORTS FOR A CYPRUS
DEAL”
Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister George Yakovu said yesterday that he
believed efforts to find a resolution to the Cyprus issue would gain
momentum next February. Speaking to the Athens News Agency, Yakovu called
for preliminary talks between Turkish and Greek Cypriots to lay the
groundwork for expected new negotiations between the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Greek Cyprus. “During these preliminary talks we
should decide what we’ll negotiate on,” he said, adding that he was opposed
to discussing the most recent UN Cyprus plan. /Milliyet/
[10] AGAR: “RAISING DEPUTIES’ SALARIES WOULD BE WRONG”
True Path Party (DYP) Chairman Mehmet Agar yesterday weighed in on recent
debates over the 2005 budget at a press conference at Parliament. Agar
argued that the new budget was no different than previous ones, adding that
foreign debt was being hiked by 20% and domestic debt by 50%. He also
criticized a proposal by a group of 100 deputies from both the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the main opposition Republican
People's Party (CHP) to raise their salaries. “I believe that sacrifices
must be shared equally by all sectors of society,” he said. “If public
servants, workers and the retired didn’t get what they wanted, neither
should the deputies.” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected the last-
minute proposal during the budget debates, reportedly fearing a public
backlash over such a move. /Star, Turkiye/
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[12] THE TRNC AND TALAT BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
Columnist Fikret Bila comments on the Cyprus issue. A summary of his column
is as follows:
“‘The TRNC’s independence was a dream,’ said Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat this week. If a prime
minister speaks of his country this way, how will others talk? Firstly, if
you’re the premier of a country which you don’t believe in and are
preparing to run for president, wouldn’t this raise your ambivalence?
Secondly, if the prime minister says such things even as we’re preparing to
sit at the table with the European Union and Southern Cyprus, what
bargaining power do we have? Who believes in a person who doesn’t believe
in himself? Most probably Talat will stand for president in the April 2005
elections. If he’s elected, he’ll head the Turkish delegation in the next
talks and protect the rights of Turkish Cypriots. He’ll work for the
establishment of a common state based on two equal nations, two democracies
and two states. However, such remarks only make him weaker.
He might have a certain view concerning the TRNC’s independence. However,
posts such as prime minister and president require different
responsibilities. Of course neither Turkey nor the Turkish Cypriots
expected the TRNC to be recognized on the day of its establishment. However,
many efforts were made for its recognition. Of course Talat knows the
reason for the TRNC’s founding better than any of us. Not the 1974 Peace
Operation, but the Greek Cypriots’ coup d’état destroyed the Cypriot
Republic. They tyrannized and expelled Turks for years and seized the
Cypriot Republic. That’s why Ankara is intervening in the issue under its
right as a guarantor state. It’s an obligation for us to protect Turkish
Cypriots’ lives, goods and sovereignty. Likewise, before the TRNC was
founded, the Turkish side stated its intention not to divide the country,
but reunite it in the future. However, after the Greek Cypriot
administration was accepted as the only legal government representing the
entire island, it became clear that a solution based on two equal
sovereignties would be possible only with the TRNC. Now the search for a
solution is proceeding on this basis, and Talat is the premier of that
country and preparing to become the president.”
[13] A SPECIALIST BY BURHAN AYERI (AKSAM)
Columnist Burhan Ayeri comments on the so-called Armenian genocide. A
summary of his column is as follows:
“Groups dedicated to making Turkey accept claims of the so-called Armenian
genocide, including those from the European Union, have always favored
Halil Berktay. A professor at Sabanci University, Berktay is a historian,
but he hasn’t done any original research into the claims. He always says
that ‘something’ happened in 1915 and gives speeches supporting Yerevan and
the claims of the Armenian diaspora. He even said, ‘What would happen if
Turkey accepts this? It’s far in the past.’ Even non-specialists can see
what would follow such an acceptance. This is a situation designed to lead
Turkey into a trap. Like those who say, ‘Give Cyprus away and get rid of
the problem’…
Another professor, Nursen Mazici, explored the events at that time from
many angles, and not from her armchair either. Mazici probed the
allegations using evidence from British and French archives and proved that
the events, which the Ottoman Empire is blamed for, were a plot of Britain.
Mazici explained how Britain promised the land to both the Kurds and
Armenians and so set them against each other. ‘The problem is geography and
the will to possess the region’s natural resources,’ added Mazici. ‘History
repeats itself, but only for fools!’
Similar discussions are taking place over the future of Cyprus. Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas is sticking to
his guns. TRNC Foreign Minister Mehmet Ali Talat, on the other hand is
tiring of all this and is slowly accepting his destiny. If the Turkish
Cypriots gain anything, it will be thanks to Denktas. If it were my choice,
I would appoint him our chief negotiator for the EU accession talks.”
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