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Turkish Press Review, 06-03-01
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
01.03.2006
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONTENTS
[01] PM ERDOGAN: “WE MUST ACT TOGETHER AGAINST TERRORISM”
[02] FM GUL: “NEWS REPORTS ABOUT ‘KURDISTAN’ ARE ERRONEOUS”
[03] CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “PM IS AT THE CENTER OF CORRUPTION”
[04] ERDOGAN: “CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE IN IRAQ SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO AN END”
[05] US AMBASSADOR WILSON: “WE SUPPORT TURKEY’S EFFORTS TO PROMOTE PEACE IN IRAQ”
[06] AGAR COMMENTS ON IRAQ DEVELOPMENTS AND IRAQI PM’S VISIT
[07] ERDOGAN ADDRESSES TEXTILE SUMMIT
[08] CICEK BRIEFS TUSIAD ON GOVT’S JUDICIAL REFORM
[09] ERDAL GETS FOUR YEARS FOR CRIMES IN BELGIUM
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[11] HAMAS’ COST TO TURKEY: LOSS OF CONFIDENCE BY CUNEYT ULSEVER (HURRIYET)
[01] PM ERDOGAN: “WE MUST ACT TOGETHER AGAINST TERRORISM”
Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari yesterday came to Ankara to hold
contacts. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Chalabi, Transportation
Minister Selam Al-Maliki and Electricity Minister Mohsen Shlash accompanied
al-Jaafari, who was welcomed by Turkish Energy and Natural Resources
Minister Hilmi Guler. Al-Jaafari first met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan. During their meeting, which Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul also
attended, Erdogan told al-Jaafari that Iraq’s political and religious
leaders should unite. “It’s imperative that political circles and religious
circles should act together to prevent terrorist groups in Iraq from
reaching their aims,” said Erdogan. Al-Jaafari described the recent
violence as deliberate terrorist acts, saying, “These outside Iraq who
can’t accept the process there have carried out deliberate and harmful
activities to sow an atmosphere of insecurity.” Al-Jaafari was also
received by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. In related news, Iraqi President
and Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani strongly criticized al-Jaafari yesterday
for visiting Turkey without informing him, and warned that any agreement
reached during the trip would be invalid. /Star/
[02] FM GUL: “NEWS REPORTS ABOUT ‘KURDISTAN’ ARE ERRONEOUS”
Both the Foreign Ministry and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday spoke
about media reports on Turkey’s Special Envoy to Iraq Ambassador Oguz
Celikkol’s conveying a message to Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP)
leader Massoud Barzani about a federal restructuring of Iraq’s
constitution. “Nuances and interpretation of our words are very important
in foreign policy,” said Gul. “Our colleagues said, ‘The Iraqi people will
decide on their political system.’ The Iraqi people approved their
constitution. We said that Turkey would say yes to the system which Iraqis
decide on.” In addition, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Namik Tan said,
“There have been no talks with Barzani on a federation in Iraq, a
federation structure in the new constitution or Turkey’s recognition of
these new structures, and there have been no messages to him on these
issues.” /Star/
[03] CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “PM IS AT THE CENTER OF CORRUPTION”
Main Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal
yesterday accused the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of being at the center of political
corruption. Speaking at a parliamentary group meeting, Baykal said, “It’s
about time the prime minister assessed the situation. If (Finance Minister
Kemal) Unakitan didn’t have the support of the prime minister, would he
have been able to do so much? I’m almost ashamed to speak about the details
of what’s going on. Everything is out in the open. Corruption allegations
have fallen onto the AKP.” /Turkish Daily News/
[04] ERDOGAN: “CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE IN IRAQ SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO AN END”
Addressing his party’s group meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan commented on the recent violence and bloodshed in Iraq, saying that
an atmosphere of stability and confidence had not yet been ensured. “We
strongly hope that common sense will replace conflicts and violence,” he
said. Erdogan said that the bloodshed and violence in Iraq should be
brought to an end immediately, calling for all groups in Iraq to remain
calm. “If this conflict between groups doesn’t end, clearly this will hurt
everyone,” he said. “A democratic system should be established with all
necessary institutions. We can ensure peace in the country no matter how
difficult the conditions are.” Stressing that Ankara was doing its best to
help end the conflict in Iraq, Erdogan added that it had made a commitment
of $50 million in aid for its neighbor. /Aksam/
[05] US AMBASSADOR WILSON: “WE SUPPORT TURKEY’S EFFORTS TO PROMOTE PEACE IN
IRAQ”
Appearing on television yesterday, US Ambassador to Ankara Ross Wilson said
that Washington supported Ankara’s efforts to promote peace efforts in
Iraq. Wilson stated that Turkey was striving for the Iraqi nation to have a
better future, adding that it had undertaken a role to provide the
participation of all groups in the political process. Touching on the issue
of Iran’s nuclear program, Wilson said that US officials would continue to
exchange views with Turkish officials concerning the program. Asked about
Ankara’s expectations of the US concerning the terrorist group PKK, Wilson
said that in recent months US and Turkish officials had been trying to form
a package of measures to address the issue fully. /Sabah/
[06] AGAR COMMENTS ON IRAQ DEVELOPMENTS AND IRAQI PM’S VISIT
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, opposition True Path Party (DYP)
leader Mehmet Agar commented on recent developments in Iraq and Iraqi Prime
Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari’s current visit to Turkey. Agar said that the
Iraqi nation should guard itself against provocations, adding that common
sense was important within this process. He added that Turkey would always
strive for stability in the region. /Turkiye/
[07] ERDOGAN ADDRESSES TEXTILE SUMMIT
A textile summit chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was held
yesterday to discuss the problems of the sector. Addressing the gathering,
Erdogan said that the textile and ready-to-wear sector in Turkey were at a
disadvantage compared to other countries. “Expecting the costs of inputs to
fall in the short term would not be realistic,” he said, adding that some
problems of the sector were due to cyclical developments and others come
from the structure of the sector. Erdogan stated that the quotas which were
lifted last year hindered Turkey’s competition with China, adding that the
fluctuating international oil and natural gas markets also posed a
difficulty for Turkey. Erdogan added that the government was aware of the
problems of industrialists and was doing its best to address these without
upsetting macroeconomic balances. /Turkiye/
[08] CICEK BRIEFS TUSIAD ON GOVT’S JUDICIAL REFORM
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek yesterday met with top officials of the
Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) to brief
them on the government’s judicial reform plans. During the meeting, Cicek
said that the issue would be a priority for some time since a sound
judicial mechanism will help spur the country’s development. “It’s also a
guarantee of peace, tranquility, and freedom in the country,” he said.
Cicek stated that foreign investors had asked him about judicial issues
before deciding about investing in Turkey. Cicek stressed that political
immunity was damaging the judicial process and that Turkey should implement
European Union standards. /Turkiye/
[09] ERDAL GETS FOUR YEARS FOR CRIMES IN BELGIUM
A Belgian court yesterday convicted Turkish terrorist Fehriye Erdal to four
years in prison for crimes committed there. Describing the Revolutionary
People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), the group that Erdal was a member
of, as a terrorist organization, the Bruges Criminal Court convicted other
members of the group as well: Dursun Karatas to five years in prison, Musa
Agaoglu to six and Kaya Saz, Bahar Kimyongor, Zerrin Sari and Akar Ozordulu
to four years each. However other members of the DHKP_C, such as Hasan
Ekici, Zeki Karaman, Irfan Demirtas and Nebi Albayoglu, were acquitted.
/The New Anatolian/
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[11] HAMAS’ COST TO TURKEY: LOSS OF CONFIDENCE BY CUNEYT ULSEVER (HURRIYET)
Columnist Cuneyt Ulsever comments on Hamas’ visit to Ankara and its
repercussions. A summary of his column is as follows:
“Why have I written so much about Hamas’ visit to Turkey? Because its
aftereffects will be felt over the long term, that is, six months or a year
from now. Actually, as the Justice and Development (AKP) government
couldn’t process the Hamas visit, it turned into a tragicomic cacophony.
What’s the cost of this visit for Turkey? Erosion of trust, damaging mutual
confidence once again after the March 2003 rejection of US troop deployment
for the Iraq war, and questions over whether the AKP’s Islamic identity
will fit in with EU policies. Some people say that the US didn’t seriously
criticize Turkey. Let’s not forget that diplomacy speaks in a very
different language, the US is walking on coals in the Middle East and the
US said coolly following our rejection of US troop deployment that
Parliament had exercised its democratic right. I don’t know if you noticed,
but when a reporter asked US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about the
Hamas visit to Ankara, he just said that Turkey is the US’ ally in NATO.
Ask diplomatic analysts how this sentence can be decrypted in the language
of diplomacy.
In a world in which almost all countries want to connect themselves in a
bloc, everybody will be in contact with each other, but everybody has to
establish relationships without denying the perspective of the bloc that it
and the ‘others’ belong to. Turkey ignored this principle once again.
What’s the cost of erosion of confidence? Nobody in the world would be
offended, cut his relations, and deny the multifaceted mutual dependence
just because of another person’s loss of confidence. So what’s the cost?
The alliance that you belong to will neither take you seriously, nor give
you an active role in their policies, nor discuss issues with you and take
your recommendations seriously. The mistake made by Turkey concerning Iraq
is full of examples verifying this. Fortunately, the Foreign Ministry saw
the ‘new realities’ and it has been taking very positives steps for six
months. However, there has already been great damage. In an atmosphere in
which ties between the West and Iraq started to buckle considerably and the
West turned towards attack policies under the leadership of the US, we’ll
experience little by little what ‘erosion of confidence’ means for Turkey.”
ARCHIVE
The news and articles issued in the Turkish Press Review
may be quoted from provided due acknowledgement is made.
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