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Turkish Press Review, 05-08-12
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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e-mail :
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Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
12.08.2005
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONTENTS
[01] IN IZMIR, ERDOGAN ATTENDS OPENING OF UNIVERSIADE GAMES, VISITS MARTYRS FAMILIES ASSOCIATION
[02] TALAT: “ANY CYPRUS DEAL WILL BE THROUGH THE TRNC, NOT ANKARA”
[03] DENKTAS: “THERE’S NO NEED TO LOSE HOPE FOR REACHING A CYPRUS RESOLUTION”
[04] DANISH PM: “ANKARA’S ACCESSION TALKS MAY NOT END WITH FULL MEMBERSHIP”
[05] FINNISH PRESIDENT EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S EU BID
[06] BABACAN: “WHEN TURKEY MEETS THE CONDITIONS, THE IMF WILL COMPLETE ITS FIRST REVIEW”
[07] SERDENGECTI: “OUR SUCCESS IN BRINGING DOWN INTEREST RATES SHOULDN’T BE IGNORED”
[08] ISRAEL LIFTS TRAVEL WARNING FOR TURKEY
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[10] KURDISH ISSUE BY DERYA SAZAK (MILLIYET)
[01] IN IZMIR, ERDOGAN ATTENDS OPENING OF UNIVERSIADE GAMES, VISITS MARTYRS
FAMILIES ASSOCIATION
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday traveled to the Aegean city
of Izmir to attend opening ceremonies of the 23rd World Universities Summer
Games (UNIVERSIADE-2005). During his stay in Izmir, Erdogan was accompanied
by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. Following the ceremony, Erdogan visited
Izmir Martyrs Families Solidarity Association head Yavuz Alphan. During
their meeting, Erdogan said that there were many such groups throughout the
country to honor the martyrs’ memory. Touching on the Cyprus issue, Erdogan
said that Turkey had kept its promises on the issue, adding that the
European Union couldn’t make further demands. In related news, the premier
is set to travel to Diyarbakir today. /Turkiye/
[02] TALAT: “ANY CYPRUS DEAL WILL BE THROUGH THE TRNC, NOT ANKARA”
Turkish Republic of Norhthern Cypus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat
yesterday accused the Greek Cypriot administration of using smear tactics
to discredit and humiliate him. In an interview with the Cyprus Mail, a
Greek Cypriot newspaper, Talat said, “Turkey in no way inhibited my
authority to negotiate with the Greek Cyprus administration on basic
matters. If [Greek Cypriot leader Tassos] Papadopoulos wants an agreement,
it must be with the Turkish Cypriots, and not Turkey. Turkey is a guarantor
and will deal only with issue relating to that. The rest will be negotiated
between the two communities.” /Star/
[03] DENKTAS: “THERE’S NO NEED TO LOSE HOPE FOR REACHING A CYPRUS
RESOLUTION”
Former Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas
said yesterday that though the Greek Cypriots didn’t want a resolution on
the island, there was no need to lose hope for finding a resolution.
Denktas also charged that the European Union was willfully ignoring the
realities of the island. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] DANISH PM: “ANKARA’S ACCESSION TALKS MAY NOT END WITH FULL MEMBERSHIP”
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen yesterday said that Turkey’s
accession talks with the European Union may not end in full EU membership.
Addressing a gathering in Copenhagen, Rasmussen said that he wanted to
stress that Ankara’s EU talks, which are due to begin on Oct. 3, might not
necessarily result in full membership. He further stated that there were
difficulties in Turkey’s membership owing to its large size. /Milliyet/
[05] FINNISH PRESIDENT EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S EU BID
Finnish President Tarja Halonen said yesterday that Turkey’s religion
shouldn’t pose a problem for its European Union membership bid. In a
newspaper interview, Halonen said that Turkish culture wasn’t so different
from the EU’s. Finland is the next EU term president, as of next January.
/Milliyet/
[06] BABACAN: “WHEN TURKEY MEETS THE CONDITIONS, THE IMF WILL COMPLETE ITS
FIRST REVIEW”
State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan said yesterday that when Turkey
meets the requirements, the International Monetary Fund would complete work
on its first review of Turkey’s economic program. “An IMF delegation will
arrive here next month to complete the first review and begin work on the
second,” he said. “It’s important that we reach our economic targets. We’re
confident about our economy and European Union membership bid, but we’re
not resting on our laurels.” Touching on recent rising interest rates,
Babacan said that the figure was below targets, predicting that they would
fall further. Asked whether Turkey would begin its accession talks with the
EU on Oct. 3, Babacan stated that there were no technical or legal hurdles
to the start of talks. “EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn said that
the talks would begin as scheduled,” added Babacan. Also touching on the
additional Customs Union protocol, Babacan reiterated that Ankara signing
it didn’t mean recognition of Greek Cyprus. /Milliyet/
[07] SERDENGECTI: “OUR SUCCESS IN BRINGING DOWN INTEREST RATES SHOULDN’T BE
IGNORED”
Speaking at a press conference yesterday to brief reporters on the Central
Bank’s Financial Stability Report, CB Governor Sureyya Serdengecti said
that the interest rates had fallen in recent years to 10% from 30%, adding
that this success shouldn’t be ignored. Serdengecti stressed that there was
no pressure from the government concerning the issue. The CB head said that
there was no need for concern about the current accounts deficit, adding
that there was no risk of devaluation. Serdengecti also stated that the
situation of public banks was much better than in the past, adding that
privatization of these banks was a final goal. “Privatization of these
banks will boost economic stability,” said Serdengecti. /Turkiye/
[08] ISRAEL LIFTS TRAVEL WARNING FOR TURKEY
Israel on Thursday lifted a travel warning against visiting the Turkish
Mediterranean coastal region around the city of Antalya. In a statement,
Israel’s counter-terrorism center said that the warning was being lifted
due to the efforts of Turkish security forces. Four days ago, Israel urged
its citizens not to visit beach resorts in the region due to security
concerns. /Star/
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[10] KURDISH ISSUE BY DERYA SAZAK (MILLIYET)
Columnist Derya Sazak comments on the Kurdish issue and the weekend visit
to Diyarbakir to be paid by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A summary
of his column is as follows:
“Before his visit to Diyarbakir, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a
group of intellectuals whom he met with on Wednesday that the Kurdish issue
is a matter of democratization. After the terrorist PKK restarted attacks
in recent months, circles in the southeast representing the Kurdish
political movement expected that if Erdogan were to emphasize civilian and
democratic solutions instead of the military and go back to the reformist
line his government followed until last December, the tension in Turkey
would fall. After giving the expected message, Erdogan will go to
Diyarbakir today after recognizing the existence of the Kurdish problem.
During his meeting with intellectuals, Erdogan gave the message that
solutions to a wide range of issues can be found in the constitutional
order as part of freedom and in line with the democratic republic. However,
like former prime ministers, Erdogan doesn’t actually say what he’s going
to do to solve the Kurdish issue.
One day before Erdogan’s meeting with the intellectuals, Parliament
Spokesman Cemil Cicek emphasized that we were late in joining the political
shaping in northern Iraq because some people had neglected Turkey’s
interests out of spite for [late President Turgut] Ozal. We all know from
the discussions during the Gulf War that Ozal was planning a federation.
Likewise, Iraq’s invasion provided Kurds in northern Iraq with this
opportunity. The Iraqi Republic and its new constitution will stress Arab
and Kurdish rights. When Turkey saw that it wasn’t included in the process
over northern Iraq during the US’ plans to invade Iraq, it rejected the
deployment of US troops in Turkey. If Turkey had allowed the US to open a
northern front, would the situation be different now? I think not. The post-
Saddam period in Iraq was drawn when the US banned flights in the area
north of the 36th parallel. Ozal wanted nothing but to be the protector of
Kurds as a US ‘subcontract.’ Now 15 years later, Turkey is obliged to
recognize its ‘own Kurds’ while at the same time dealing with the political
problems brought by the Iraq invasion and the PKK terrorism. I wonder what
democratic opening Erdogan will bring to the Kurdish issue.”
ARCHIVE
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