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Turkish Press Review, 06-01-17
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
17.01.2006
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH JORDANIAN PRIME MINISTER
[02] GUL TO VISIT BRAZIL
[03] CICEK: “AGCA’S EARLY RELEASE AND BIRD FLU WERE DISCUSSED AT THE CABINET”
[04] MINISTER EKER TO ATTEND A BIRD FLU CONFERENCE IN BEIJING
[05] BAYKAL: “THIS IS A SCANDAL”
[06] COURT OF APPEALS TO DECIDE FOR AGCA
[07] AGCA NOT FIT FOR MILITARY SERVICE
[08] BULGARIAN PM TO VISIT TURKEY TODAY
[09] EU’S BARBASO LENDS SUPPORT TO TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP
[10] GREECE HEALTH MINISTER: “AVOID TRAVELING TURKEY IF THERE’S NO SERIOUS REASON”
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[12] AGCA, LAW AND NATIONALISM BY HASAN CELAL GUZEL (RADIKAL)
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH JORDANIAN PRIME MINISTER
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met with Jordanian Prime
Minister Marouf Bakhit who is currently paying an official visit to Turkey.
Bakhit, a former ambassador to Turkey, was accompanied by government
ministers and Jordanian businessmen. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul also
held talks with his Jordanian counterpart Abdal-Illa al-Hatib. At a joint
press conference, Erdogan and Bakhit stated that they resolved to further
develop economical, political, military, commercial and cultural relations
between the two countries. Furthermore, the two leaders also discussed the
Iraq issue and remarked the importance of Iraq’s territorial integrity and
political unity. Meanwhile, taking a break during a Cabinet meeting
yesterday, Erdogan paid a visit to Kuwait Ambassador to Turkey to present
his condolences on the death of the emir of Kuwait Sheik Jaber Al Ahmed Al
Sabah. /Turkiye-Star/
[02] GUL TO VISIT BRAZIL
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is due tomorrow to travel to Brazil to pay an
official visit upon an invitation of Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso
Amorim. During his five-day stay in the country, Gul is expected to meet
with Brazilian Foreign Trade Minister Louis F. Furlan and Speaker of
Brazil’s Representatives House Aldo Rebelo in Brasilia to discuss bilateral
relations. Gul is also expected to be received by Brazilian President Lula
Da Silva. On Friday Gul will proceed to Sao Paulo to attend the opening
ceremony of an honorary consulate general and attend a meeting of Turkish-
Brazilian Business Council. On Saturday, Gul will proceed to Rio de Janeiro
to make contacts to boost bilateral trade ties. /Hurriyet/
[03] CICEK: “AGCA’S EARLY RELEASE AND BIRD FLU WERE DISCUSSED AT THE
CABINET”
Speaking after yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek
said that the release of Mehmet Ali Agca, the muderer of journalist Abdi
Ipekci and assassin of Pope John Paul II in 1981, was discussed at the
meeting. Cicek said that he would be filing a written order to the Court of
Appeals to review Agca’s release. He said that the decision of early
release had nothing to do with the Justice Ministry, adding that it was a
judicial issue. “Criticisms made to the government about the issue aren’t
fair,” said Cicek. “No file of a detainee is at the Justice Ministry.”
Cicek stressed that there was judicial independence in Turkey. He further
stated that Health Minister Recep Akdag and Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker
briefed the Cabinet on bird flu issue. Cicek added that the Agriculture
Ministry Undersecretary was carrying out a technical study to compensate
the losses of the poultry sector. “This study will be possibly completed
tomorrow,” added Cicek. /Star/
[04] MINISTER EKER TO ATTEND A BIRD FLU CONFERENCE IN BEIJING
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Mehdi Eker will attend a conference
on bird flu which will begin today in Beijing, China. The conference held
by Chinese government, European Commission and World Bank will last two
days. Ministers and bureaucrats of 66 countries will participate in the
conference. At the conference, the issues as the funds ensured for the bird
flu, technical requirements of the related countries to avoid and control
the flu, work conducted by all sides to raise the funds, and to form a
coordination mechanism will be debated. The Beijing Declaration on the
struggle against the flu will be released after the meeting. /Aksam/
[05] BAYKAL: “THIS IS A SCANDAL”
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal
evaluated the release of Abdi Ipekci’s murderer Mehmet Ali Agca as a
scandal. While expressing his opinions at the meeting with the Executive
Board of the Union of Turkish Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB),
Baykal also assessed the event as a corrosion of the judicial body. Baykal
stated that Turkey is in a period during which the judicial body is under
the effect of politics. Baykal said: “This picture should be an occasion
for a justice reform.” In related news, Baykal said that the government
should begin to negotiate a new economic program with the International
Monetary Fund, claiming that the conditions of five years ago have changed.
“A new program is a must,” said Baykal. “The social harm of the program in
the last five years should be compensated.” Baykal noted that the foreign
exchange policy of the government wasn’t appropriate, adding that the
foreign trade deficit was about $40-45 billion due to this policy.
/Milliyet-/Sabah/
[06] COURT OF APPEALS TO DECIDE FOR AGCA
The Court of Appeals will say the last word on the issue about the release
of Abdi Ipekci’s murderer Mehmet Ali Agca. The conditional release of Agca
was on the agenda of the meeting of the Council of Ministers yesterday.
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek and Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu informed
the ministers. While criticizing the amnesty law, Cicek condemned the
former government for causing confusion in the public opinion. Cicek said:
“Probably tomorrow, we will send the file to the Court of Appeals by using
the way called ‘written order’”. Cicek noted that he had no further
authority on this issue. On the other hand, Nukhet Ipekci, daughter of Abdi
Ipekci, and family lawyer Turgut Kazan had a meeting with Cicek. After the
meeting, Kazan stated that they applied to the Justice Ministry for the
annulment of the decision. /Sabah/
[07] AGCA NOT FIT FOR MILITARY SERVICE
Gulhane Military (GATA) hospital said Mehmet Ali Agca, whose recent release
from prison provoked anger among the Turkish public, wasn’t fit for
obligatory military service. GATA’a decision ended days of speculation
about whether he would have to serve in the army after spending a combined
25 years in prison in Italy and Turkey both for shooting Pope John Paul II
in 1981 and murdering Turkish journalist Abdi Ipekci in 1979. Agca, who was
behind bars for almost six years in Turkey for killing Ipekci, was freed
from prison on Thursday and disappeared. He resurfaced yesterday and
reported to GATA in Istanbul. /The New Anatolian/
[08] BULGARIAN PM TO VISIT TURKEY TODAY
Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev is to pay an official visit to
Turkey beginning today at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart, Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. The talks between the two leaders will focus on bilateral
ties along with regional and international issues. Stanishev will travel to
Turkey together with a group of businessmen to have talks with Turkish
businessmen to boost economic ties between the two neighboring countries.
/Turkish Daily News/
[09] EU’S BARBASO LENDS SUPPORT TO TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP
European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Fabrizio Barbaso said yesterday
that a delay in Turkey’s EU membership might cause instability in the
Balkans and the Middle East. In an article issued in New Europe daily,
Barbaso underlined the importance of Turkey’s EU membership. Pointing to
Turkey’s contribution to the union with its big market, young population
and cultural richness, the commissioner said that lending support to the
candidate countries would also help in the fight against crime and
terrorism. /Turkiye/
[10] GREECE HEALTH MINISTER: “AVOID TRAVELING TURKEY IF THERE’S NO SERIOUS
REASON”
Greece Minister of Health Nikitas Kaklamanis asked Greeks to avoid
traveling to Turkey if there is no serious reason. The minister cited the
latest bird flu outbreak in Turkey was the reason for his warning as part
of precautionary measures taken by Greece. Kaklamanis said, “Recently, we
heard calls to close the border with Turkey. Related Greek officials
contacted with the Europe Infectious Disease Center and there is no need to
close the borders at this stage,” adding, “As a doctor and a minister, I
request Greek citizens to limit visits to Turkey and seriously consider the
list of measures prepared against this disease.” /Aksam/
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[12] AGCA, LAW AND NATIONALISM BY HASAN CELAL GUZEL (RADIKAL)
Columnist Hasan Celal Guzel comments on Mehmet Ali Agca’s release. A
summary of his column is as follows:
“Discussions on Mehmet Ali Agca’s release showed once more that Turkey
needs a judicial reform urgently. Justice Minister Cemil Cicek has been
making efforts concerning the issue of judicial reform for three years and
got ahead in the fields of democratization and law thanks to the laws he
has prepared. He should declare the year 2006 as the ‘Year of Judicial
Reform’ and complete his operations to solve the problems concerning the
judiciary. Agca’s release derives from the mistakes in the Execution Law.
If amnesty laws are enacted often in a country, the deterrent force of
punishment is removed. What’s more, the probation system in the Law on
Execution of Punishment numbered 647 which came into force in 1965 shows
that this institution isn’t understood in the Turkish Penal Law and that
it’s used just like an amnesty law. According to lawyer Assoc. Prof. Sami
Selçuk, the probation was completely misunderstood. Selçuk stated that this
is the institution of personalizing the punishment during its execution,
but this is considered an opportunity to be rescued from troublesome
criminals and applied like an amnesty law. He said that the execution law
prepared by famous execution lawyer Lopez Rey was spoiled and that the 6-
month period of test was decreased to 2 days. This period ranges between 2
and 6 months in developed countries and the convict person is taken under
observation and then released with a commission decision. This way of
release can be applied on one of 9 convicts. However, if the guardian of
the convict says that this is a good man in 2 days, he can be released. In
other words, all the convicts can benefit from the release automatically.
It’s hard to say if the calculation in Agca’s release is wrong without
seeing his file. However, Cicek used the method of written order, which
shows that there are legal hesitations concerning the issue of release. The
right which was obtained is out of the question in this incident and now
there’s nothing to do but wait for the decision of the Court of Appeals.
Agca, who assassinated Pope John Paul II was tried in Italy in 1981 for
three days and the court gave its decision on the fourth day. At that time,
certain columnists who are also lawyers complained that a trial can’t be
that short. However, this was the right way of trial and it’s wrong to
carry out trials which last for many years just like in our country. Don’t
you think that this shows that Turkey needs a judicial reform? The press’
intensive interest in Agca should be received normally, because Agca killed
one of the leading journalists in Turkey. However, I also wish that the
press shows the same level of sensitivity concerning similar issues. In
addition, I can understand that Agca’s relatives and family welcomes him,
but I can’t tolerate that he was considered a nationalist and welcomed with
flowers and a Turkish flag. Agca killed one of the leading press members in
Turkey and attempted at killing the highest-ranking representative of a
religion. Both of these incidents which are inhuman damaged Turkey’s image.
Agca’s actions have nothing to do with being a Turk and patriotism. Those
who protect Agca should stop this fanaticism and remember these truths.
ARCHIVE
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