|
|
Turkish Press Review, 05-12-29
From: 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 morning
29.12.2005
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN VOWS TO LIFT OBSTACLES TO FREEDOM OF THOUGHT
[02] GUL: “RECENT CASES UNDER ARTICLE 301 HAVE HURT TURKEY’S IMAGE AS MUCH AS ‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ ”
[03] LAST NSC MEETING OF 2005 SET FOR TODAY
[04] US’ RICE TO VISIT TURKEY
[05] REACTING TO LAGENDIJK PROBE, EU SAYS TCK’S ARTICLE 301 SHOULD BE LIFTED
[06] BAYKAL LENDS SUPPORT TO PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS
[07] MUMCU CRITICIZES ERDOGAN’S BUDGET DEBATE STANCE
[08] KARAYALCIN CRITICIZES GOVT PRIVATIZATION POLICY, CLAIMS IT’S SAVING MONEY FOR ELECTION PREPARATIONS
[09] SENER: “WE’RE WORKING ON A BILL TO SOLVE THE CREDIT CARD PROBLEM”
[10] AGAR ATTENDS CONFERENCE ON SMEs
[11] PRIVATE STATIONS TO GET PERMISSION FOR KURDISH BROADCASTING
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[13] NEXT YEAR OUR RELATIONS WITH EU MIGHT BE FROZEN BY SEMIH IDIZ (MILLIYET)
[01] ERDOGAN VOWS TO LIFT OBSTACLES TO FREEDOM OF THOUGHT
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that his government was
resolved to eliminate all obstacles hindering freedom of thought. Speaking
at a meeting in Ankara, the premier stated that Turkey had laid a milestone
on its path to European Union membership. He said that the government’s
priority was to complete reforms and structural transformation as part of
the negotiation process, which is necessary for a society with free thought
and conscience and also constitutes the basis of the EU. State Minister and
chief negotiator Ali Babacan and State Minister Abdullatif Sener also
attended the meeting and delivered speeches. /Hurriyet/
[02] GUL: “RECENT CASES UNDER ARTICLE 301 HAVE HURT TURKEY’S IMAGE AS MUCH
AS ‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ ”
Speaking to news channel NTV, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday spoke
about the trial of Orhan Pamuk and the inquiry into Turkey-European Union
Joint Parliamentary Commission Co-Chair Joost Lagendijk. Gul indicated that
there is a mindset in Turkey which intentionally wants to sow chaos, adding,
“Laws can grow old, but values are important. Patience is required for
radical reforms to go through. After the New Turkish Penal Code (TCK) was
issued, many courts referred to decisions of the European Court of Human
Rights. A few days ago, a court decided that criticism can be grave but
there’s a right to criticize.” Gul said that this mindset is hurting
Turkey’s image as much as the notorious movie “Midnight Express,” and added,
“We will both strengthen the reform process and follow its implementation.”
/Star/
[03] LAST NSC MEETING OF 2005 SET FOR TODAY
The last meeting this year of the National Security Council will be held
today. During the gathering, the outcome and impact on the region of Iraq’s
Dec. 15 elections will be discussed. Terrorism and domestic security issues
will also be discussed. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Chief of
General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, commanding officers of the army and various
Cabinet ministers will attend the NSC meeting chaired by President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] US’ RICE TO VISIT TURKEY
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit Turkey after the New
Year. Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan told a regular weekly press
conference that Rice’s visit is coming up but agreement has yet to be
reached on scheduling. Rice visited Turkey this February when she signaled
that Washington is familiar with Turkey’s concerns and wants to continue
the dialogue of strategic cooperation between the two countries. /Star/
[05] REACTING TO LAGENDIJK PROBE, EU SAYS TCK’S ARTICLE 301 SHOULD BE
LIFTED
The European Union is reacting to the judicial inquiry into Turkey-European
Union Joint Parliamentary Commission Co-Chair Joost Lagendijk under the new
Turkish Penal Code’s (TCK) Article 301 for “insulting Turkey, the Republic,
its institutions and its bodies,” and Article 288 for “attempting to
influence a fair trial.” EU officials reportedly said that they were
following the developments on the inquiry with confusion. The officials
stated that the inquiry is based on Article 301, which the say should be
abolished. The EU sources stated that even if that article is lifted,
Europe has seen that there are serious deficiencies in Turkey concerning
freedom of expression. In related news, a European Union ambassador in
Ankara called the inquiry a “step contrary to freedom of expression.”
/Sabah/
[06] BAYKAL LENDS SUPPORT TO PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS
Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday
attended a meeting in Ankara of the Turkish Motorists Federation (TSOF), a
trade group for professional drivers such as cabbies. Addressing the
gathering, the CHP leader pointed to the issues facing the profession, and
called on the government to take measures to protect them from violence and
save lives. /Turkiye/
[07] MUMCU CRITICIZES ERDOGAN’S BUDGET DEBATE STANCE
Addressing his party’s group meeting yesterday, opposition Motherland Party
(ANAVATAN) leader Erkan Mumcu criticized quarrels during the recent budget
debates in Parliament, adding that the style of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan had been improper. Mumcu stated that Erdogan had made fun of the
poverty of the nation and defended a minister of his government against
accusations of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). /Cumhuriyet/
[08] KARAYALCIN CRITICIZES GOVT PRIVATIZATION POLICY, CLAIMS IT’S SAVING
MONEY FOR ELECTION PREPARATIONS
Addressing a press conference in Parliament on this week’s budget debates,
Social Democrat People’s Party (SHP) leader Murat Karayalcin said that
Turkey’s most pressing problems such as poverty, unemployment, and unequal
income distribution hadn’t been addressed at these debates, adding that no
solutions were proposed to solve these problems. Karayalcin further
criticized the privatization policy of the government, claiming that it was
saving money in preparation for elections. /Cumhuriyet/
[09] SENER: “WE’RE WORKING ON A BILL TO SOLVE THE CREDIT CARD PROBLEM”
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener
said that Turkey has a total of 29 million credit cards, adding that the
payment of only 1% of these was late. “We’re trying to reach a bill in
order to overcome this problem and to make sure banks adopt common
standards,” he said. Sener added that the government wanted no one to be
put out on the issue. /Aksam/
[10] AGAR ATTENDS CONFERENCE ON SMEs
Opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar yesterday charged that
the International Monetary Fund had mortgaged Turkey’s future. Speaking at
a seminar entitled, “Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMES) in the
Process of European Union Membership,” Agar criticized the government’s
policies on SMES, calling on the government to give them more support. “No
government can go forward while ignoring the problems of these businesses,”
he said. Commenting on budget debates this week in Parliament, Agar urged
deputies to produce serious policies rather than useless squabbles in order
to find solutions to the country’s problems. /Turkiye/
[11] PRIVATE STATIONS TO GET PERMISSION FOR KURDISH BROADCASTING
Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK) head Zahid Akman yesterday
said that the groundwork to allow broadcasts in ethnic languages and
dialects had reached a certain level under which permission will be granted
to private broadcasters who fulfill the requirements as of January. At a
press conference alongside fellow RTUK members, Akman spoke about 2005 and
work coming up next year. “Although we gave the broadcasters notices to
address deficiencies via two official letters, some irregular documents
remain,” said Akman. “The infrastructure of our regional provinces will be
completed and the necessary permission for broadcasters will be granted in
January.” /Cumhuriyet/
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[13] NEXT YEAR OUR RELATIONS WITH EU MIGHT BE FROZEN BY SEMIH IDIZ
(MILLIYET)
Columnist Semih Idiz comments on Turkish-EU relations. A summary of his
column is as follows:
“There are obviously certain factors signaling a rough road ahead between
Turkey and the European Union in 2006. The first is the Cyprus issue and
the second is certain shortcomings in the implementation of EU reforms. At
this point, the problem of freedom of expression comes to the foreground.
Let’s first consider the Cyprus issue. When Deputy Prime Minister
Abdullatif Sener said that we wouldn’t open our harbors to Greek Cypriots,
Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister George Iacovou said that if Turkey continues
this attitude, it would shortly cause a crisis in the EU. Greek Cypriots
have been feeling stronger within the EU, which they succeeded in joining
alone thanks to former Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President
Rauf Denktas. Therefore, they’re trying to spark this crisis themselves by
sending ship to a Turkish harbor at the beginning of 2006 in order to test
Ankara. As Turkey will turn back the ships, Greek Cypriots and its
supporters will raise hell about it within the EU on the grounds that
Turkey has violated its Customs Union responsibilities. Some circles within
the EU openly predict that the membership negotiations might be frozen due
to this crisis.
There’s even another possibility for Turkey here, which is that our talks
will be frozen before they even really begin. Ankara wanted these talks to
be started on even a few issues (following the screening) before the first
half of 2006 Austrian term presidency. Then it would be easier to overcome
the possible problems coming from Austria. However, this didn’t happen. Our
public prosecutors insist on not recognizing freedom of expression and
filed new changes against author Orhan Pamuk and editor Hrant Dink and came
down on Turkish-EU Joint Parliament Chairman Joost Lagendijk, which clearly
shows the problem. In sum, 2006 won’t be enough for Turkey to get rid of
its tarnished image in terms of personal freedoms. It even seems that we
won’t get better, but worse on this issue. Of course, many people in Turkey
want us to loosen the ties with the EU or even break off these relations.
I’ll address at a later date how these people have no reasonable
alternative. In short, the presence of certain domestic circles who hope
for help from the tension with the EU can’t be ignored.
In spite of the foundation which was laid for EU membership in 2005, it’s
still hard to say that the construction will start in 2006 in earnest. This
isn’t pessimism, but truth shown by the data. Maybe this will be a good
thing, because sometimes the best way of seeing the value of something is
losing it. Therefore, if our relations with the EU are suspended, people
could see what it would cost Turkey.”
ARCHIVE
<script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js">
</script>
|