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Turkish Press Review, 05-12-02Turkish 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 morning02.12.2005FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN: “THE TSK IS OUR GREATEST SAFEGUARD”At this year’s final Supreme Military Council (YAS) meeting, the fight against separatist activities was stressed. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul put a reservation on the decision to discharge four personnel from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). During the YAS meeting, a comprehensive evaluation of security issues was done. Recent developments in Iraq, and especially the status of Kirkuk in terms of security, were evaluated. Also the consequences of Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani’s visits to the US and other countries were discussed. At the meeting Erdogan was briefed on military readiness and modernization projects. After having lunch at the General Staff Headquarters, YAS members visited Anitkabir, Ataturk’s mausoleum, where Erdogan signed the commemorative guestbook. Erdogan wrote, “While preparing our Republic with pride and enthusiasm for the future, with fully 85 years behind us, the broad experience and superb capabilities of the TSK are valued as our greatest safeguard.” After the YAS meeting, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and his wife Semra Sezer hosted a dinner for YAS members and their wives at the Presidential Palace. Premier Erdogan also attended the dinner. /Cumhuriyet/[02] PM TO TRAVEL TO AUSTRALIA TODAYAfter touring African, Asian and Gulf countries over the course of this year, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan today will fly to Australia and New Zealand to pay an official visit. During his nine-day trip, Erdogan, accompanied by a large delegation of businessmen, first will stop in New Zealand and then proceed to Australia on Thursday. The premier is scheduled to have talks with his New Zealand and Australian counterparts as well as economic circles to promote bilateral relations. /Turkiye/[03] CELIK: “41 PROVINCES WANT UNIVERSITIES”Education Minister Huseyin Celik yesterday said that the government had determined 15 provinces where it would establish universities in line with objective criteria. During debates at Parliament’s Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Commission on 15 new universities proposed by the government, Celik said that no new universities had been founded in the country for a decade, adding that the current ones failed to meet demand as shown by how some 70,000 Turkish students were going abroad for their education. Stressing that fully 41 provinces had actually asked for universities, Celik added that they made the list through objective criteria rather than emotional ones. /Sabah/[04] IRANIAN FM’S VISIT TO ANKARAIranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, visiting Turkey 16 years after serving as ambassador to Ankara, had a busy schedule yesterday. Mottaki yesterday met with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, and former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. Baykal reportedly stressed that countries should respect the principle of non-interference in each other’s politics, with Mottaki replying that he agreed. He also invited Baykal to visit Tehran. After the meeting with Ecevit, Mottaki said, “I am pleased to meet one of Turkey’s eminent statesman.” The Iranian foreign minister also met with former President Suleyman Demirel. /Star/[05] IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT MEETS GULIraq’s Vice President Adel Abdulmehdi yesterday paid a visit to Ankara in the runup to the Dec. 15 Iraqi elections. The reason for Abdulmehdi’s Ankara visit was reportedly to thank Turkey for its impartial stance. Abdulmehdi, a Shiite candidate for the prime minister’s post, met with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. Gul expressed Turkey’s support for the political process there and reiterated that Ankara will continue to call on all Iraqi groups to actively participate in the elections. /Cumhuriyet/[06] BARZANI: “KIRKUK WILL JOIN THE KURDISH REGION IN 2007”Speaking at a meeting in the province of Salaheddin yesterday, Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said that Kirkuk would join the northern Iraqi Kurdish region in 2007. Barzani stressed that the elections set to be held on Dec. 15 would be a turning point for Iraq, adding that the Kurds needed to succeed in these elections for Kirkuk to join their region, as otherwise their advantages could be wiped away by Shiite and Sunni votes. “This could sow chaos in Iraq,” said Barzani. “We have to be realistic. Independence is the right of Kurds, but we lack access to ports connecting us to other countries so we shouldn’t stay isolated in our region.” /Sabah/[07] EUROPEAN REFORM CENTER: “TURKEY’S SCREENING PROCESS IS OFF TO A GOOD START”The European Reform Center yesterday issued a report on Turkey’s European Union membership process. The center, one of Europe’s leading think-tanks, said that Turkey had begun the screening process very well and had successfully passed through the two chapters on education and culture and science and research. Stressing that the screening would include 35 chapters and would be a hard process, the report also noted that Turkey was in a better situation than certain eastern European countries regarding harmonization. /Star/[08] RICE POINTS TO TURKISH-US STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPFollowing the approval of the Senate, Ross Wilson, appointed by President George W. Bush as the new US ambassador to Ankara, yesterday took his oath of office in a ceremony at the State Department. Former US Ambassadors to Ankara Robert Pearson, Mark Parris and Marc Grossman, as well as Turkey’s current Ambassador to Washington Faruk Lologlu, were present at the gathering. Speaking before the ceremony, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that Turkey was a country that carries critical importance for the US, adding that for that reason, Washington appointed its most experienced diplomats there. Pointing to the importance of strategic relations with Turkey, Rice noted that US backing for its European Union membership would continue. Furthermore, delivering a speech, Wilson said that his post in Turkey would be very interesting and challenging, adding that he would do his best to further develop Turkish-US relations. /Turkiye/[09] BABACAN: “WE NEED A SOUND FISCAL SYSTEM IN ORDER TO TAKE OUR PLACE IN THE GLOBAL SYSTEM”In his opening speech at the Third International Finance Summit yesterday, State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan hailed the government’s recent tax cut of 10% as an important step, adding that it was also ready to cut the value-added tax (VAT), but it first needs to see lower unregistered employment. “We haven’t seen that in the last three years,” he said. Babacan said that the recent tax cut was a government incentive to the real sector, stressing that Turkey needed a sound fiscal system in order to take its place in the global economy with a sound economy. /Aksam/[10] IMF TO DISCUSS FIRST AND SECOND REVIEW OF ECONOMIC PROGRAM NEXT WEEKInternational Monetary Fund External Affairs Director Tom Dawson said yesterday that the Fund’s Executive Board would discuss the first and second review of Turkey’s IMF-supported economic program next Friday. The IMF is expected to release a $1.6 billion credit tranche when the reviews are completed. Commenting on a recent 10% tax cut, Dawson stressed that Turkey should achieve a 6.5 primary surplus next year, adding that he hoped the tax cut wouldn’t hinder this. /Milliyet/[11] WB’S VORKINK, IMF’S BREDENKAMP ADDRESS THIRD INTERNATIONAL FINANCE SUMMITSpeaking at the Third International Finance Summit yesterday, World Bank Turkey Director Andrew Vorkink praised Turkey’s recent economic progress, saying that one day it could be “Europe’s tiger.” Also addressing the summit, International Monetary Fund Turkey Director Hugh Bredenkamp said that Turkey had been implementing strict fiscal policies for the last three years, adding that the only risk was the high current accounts deficit. Bredenkamp added that Turkey had begun to talk about elections, stressing that structural reforms should continue to be implemented. /Milliyet/[12] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[13] FROM GUL’S PERSPECTIVE BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA (AKSAM)Columnist Ismail Kucukkaya comments on his meeting with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. A summary of his column is as follows:“During a meeting with our Editor in Chief Serdar Turgut, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul made interesting statements yesterday. Gul said that Turkey’s former consulate in Mosul would be reopened and that Middle East Director General Huseyin Avin Botsali would be the Mosul consul general. Gul said that Turkey had been meeting northern Iraq’s needs, including security, for many years and cited examples. ‘If there is reconstruction going on there today, this is thanks to Turkey’s help,’ he said. ‘Nobody can ignore our efforts and exclude Turkey from today’s reconstruction. Northern Iraq is our area, our hinterland. Our priority is Iraq’s territorial integrity.’ From Gul’s words, we can see that Turkey will act like an older brother to Kurds in the region. We clearly felt a change of policy. Turkey found a new role for itself from the situation in the region, and now our state officials’ former and future meetings with the US following contacts with Kurdish leaders can be understood better. Gul explained the new formulation of Turkey’s relations with the countries in the region as follows: ‘Problems were provoked both in Turkey and there in the past. Now we’re trying to solve problems before they become serious.’ Gul visited Damascus two weeks ago rather suddenly. When we asked him about it, he said, ‘Permission to do interrogations of five important officials on [former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik] Hariri’s assassination was requested, and Syria gave this permission. Among them are people close to the Syrian administration. This was a vital development for solving the problem and our contribution.’ Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and Iraqi Vice President Adil Abdul Mahki are in Ankara. When we asked him about his meeting with Mottaki, Gul seemed very pleased with the visit. On his Iraqi counterpart, Gul said, ‘It was surprising to see that he supports Turkey’s European Union membership bid. His support was beyond my expectations. He told me that we were representing the East and the entire Islamic world and that our EU bid had gained a vital dimension.’ Gul added that he told his guest that Iran should boost its cooperation with the EU trio, that is, France, Germany and Britain. Following our meeting, Gul explained Turkey’s current situation broadly, from the economy to diplomacy. He explained the formula for becoming a country with a say on the world stage as follows: ‘Nobody can hold back Turkey if we have a strong military organization and economy and a democratic structure. We’re progressing along this road. When you add the EU perspective to this, you can see what Turkey will look like in 10 years’.” 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 |