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Turkish Press Review, 06-03-07
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
07.03.2006
CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF OZKOK,
PM ERDOGAN MEET
GUL TO ATTEND TURKEY-EU TROIKA
SUMMIT IN VIENNA
CICEK “THERE NO SUBSTITUTES FOR
THE TSK OR THE JUDICIARY”
CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “INDICTING
BUYUKANIT WOULD BE LIKE A COUP”
STATE MINISTER TUZMEN:
“AGREEMENTS HINDER SUPPORTING ONE SECTOR”
EP CONTACT GROUP VISITS TRNC
BABACAN, VORKINK, AND
KRETSCHMER SPEAK AT CONFERENCE ON TURKEY’S
ECONOMY
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
SEMDINLI, THE SOUTHEAST, THE US
AND THE TSK
BY CUNEYT ULSEVER (HURRIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF OZKOK, PM
ERDOGAN MEET
[02] GUL TO ATTEND TURKEY-EU TROIKA
SUMMIT IN VIENNA
[03] CICEK “THERE NO SUBSTITUTES FOR THE
TSK OR THE JUDICIARY”
[04] CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “INDICTING
BUYUKANIT WOULD BE LIKE A COUP”
[05] STATE MINISTER TUZMEN: “AGREEMENTS
HINDER SUPPORTING ONE SECTOR”
[06] EP CONTACT GROUP VISITS TRNC
[07] BABACAN, VORKINK, AND KRETSCHMER
SPEAK AT CONFERENCE ON TURKEY’S ECONOMY
[08] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[09] SEMDINLI, THE
SOUTHEAST, THE US AND THE TSK
BY CUNEYT ULSEVER (HURRIYET)
[01] CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF OZKOK, PM
ERDOGAN MEET
In
the indictment related to last November’s
Semdinli incidents, possible charges against
Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit have
stirred up Ankara. Chief of General Staff Gen.
Hilmi Ozkok first evaluated the issue yesterday
with his commanding officers, then visited Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. During the
meeting, Ozkok reportedly said that some ruling
Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputies had
made statements supporting legal action against
Buyukanit, adding, “The Turkish Armed Forces
(TSK) is being systematically worn down. Your
parliamentary group is actively participating in
this.” Meanwhile Prime Ministry spokesperson
Akif Beki said that premier was following press
coverage of the issue, and added, “This issue
develops out of the government and the prime
minister and is related to the judiciary.”
/Cumhuriyet/
[02] GUL TO ATTEND TURKEY-EU TROIKA
SUMMIT IN VIENNA
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is due to attend a
summit tomorrow of the foreign ministers of
Turkey and the European Union Troika. In an
address to the summit, Gul is expected to say
that financial assistance to the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and direct
trade regulations are inseparable and that if
the EU insists on separating them, then it would
be breaking its promise and harming its
credibility. Gul is also expected to seek
support for the Cyprus action plan recently
proposed by Ankara. Turkey’s EU membership bid
will also be discussed at the summit. In related
news, Gul is expected to travel to Salzburg on
Friday upon the invitation of Austrian Foreign
Minister Ursula Plassnik. Gul will attend an
unofficial meeting of EU foreign ministers and
deliver an opening speech. /Turkiye/
[03] CICEK “THERE NO SUBSTITUTES FOR THE
TSK OR THE JUDICIARY”
Speaking after yesterday’s
Cabinet meeting, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek,
brushed off questions about accusations that
Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit had
tried to interfere in judicial proceedings over
last year’s Semdinli incidents, saying that it
wasn’t proper to ask politicians about judicial
issues. Stressing that there were no substitutes
for either the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) or the
judiciary, Cicek said that the Semdinli
investigation was being carried out in secrecy,
adding that there should be no press coverage of
it. Cicek stated that Economy Minister and chief
European Union negotiator Ali Babacan had
briefed the Cabinet on recent work on Turkey’s
accession talks with the EU. He stressed that
the problems of the textile sector were also
evaluated at the meeting, adding that Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan would declare at
his party’s group meeting the government’s
decisions concerning the textile, ready-to-wear,
and leather sectors. “We also discussed
developments in Iraq and Iran’s nuclear
program,” he added. /Turkiye/
[04] CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “INDICTING
BUYUKANIT WOULD BE LIKE A COUP”
Main opposition Republican
People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal
yesterday said that putting Land Forces
Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit’s name on an
indictment related to last November’s Semdinli
incidents was like a “coup against the army.”
Baykal added, “Coups usually come from armies.
But it seems sometimes a coup can be planned and
tried against the armed forces. But using the
judiciary to do this is very regrettable.” In
related news, opposition True Path Party (DYP)
leader Mehmet Agar said, “The issue shouldn’t be
a matter of polemics since the law, and even
more so, the internal law of the Turkish Armed
Forces (TSK) will deal with the issue.”
Meanwhile commenting on the Van Public
Prosecutor Office’s indictment against
Buyukanit, opposition Motherland Party
(ANAVATAN) leader Erkan Mumcu praised the
commander’s statement following the announcement
of the indictment, implying that everyone must
be equal before the law. /Turkiye/
[05] STATE MINISTER TUZMEN: “AGREEMENTS
HINDER SUPPORTING ONE SECTOR”
State Minister Kursat Tuzmen
yesterday said that it was difficult to
implement tax cuts for only one sector due to
international agreements, but indirect support
could be provided. During a meeting with
officials of the Automotive Industrialists
Association, Tuzmen said that work on cutting
VAT rates wasn’t new but had started two years
ago, and that the advantages of such cuts and
the whether the economy would allow it or not
were being explored. Tuzmen said that Turkey’s
agreements under the World Trade Organization
(WTO) and the Customs Union don’t permit
sector-based support. /Star/
[06] EP CONTACT GROUP VISITS TRNC
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
acting President Fatma Ekenoglu yesterday
received a European Parliament high-level
contact group led by French MEP Francoise
Grossetete. No statements were made during the
meeting at the Presidential Palace. The EP group
will meet with government officials as well as
representatives of some non-governmental
organizations (NGOs). /Star/
[07] BABACAN, VORKINK, AND KRETSCHMER
SPEAK AT CONFERENCE ON TURKEY’S ECONOMY
Addressing a conference
entitled “Turkey Economic Report: Sustainable
Growth and Getting Closer to the European
Union,” EU Commission Turkey Representative
Hansjoerg Kretschmer praised Turkey’s
“noteworthy” performance since the EU decided
five months ago to begin Ankara’s accession
talks. He stressed that Turkey’s performance
getting in harmony with the EU deserved support
and that this is also stated in EU reports.
Kretschmer praised recent developments in the
Turkish economy, saying that inflation had
fallen considerably and high growth had been
achieved. For his part, World Bank Turkey
Director Andrew Vorkink said that he appreciated
Turkey’s great progress on the economy,
stability and its EU membership bid. He stressed
that the economic reforms which are being
carried out would also be beneficial socially.
Also addressing the gathering, State Minister
for the Economy Ali Babacan said that fighting
inflation was one of the pillars of the
government’s economic program, adding that it
would determinedly continue its efforts. Babacan
said that the Turkish economy grew over the last
four years, helping to achieve sustainable
growth and stability. “We achieved a 7% primary
surplus,” added Babacan. /Milliyet/
[08] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[09] SEMDINLI, THE
SOUTHEAST, THE US AND THE TSK
BY CUNEYT ULSEVER (HURRIYET)
Columnist Cuneyt Ulsever comments on the
indictment against Land Forces Commander Gen.
Yasar Buyukanit. A summary of his column is as
follows:
“I’ve
written three columns so far this month on the
incidents in Semdinli last November. The common
ground for these columns is that in all of them
I wrote the following: The Middle East will turn
into a place of fire with the assumption that
the hell will be raised both in Iraq and Iran,
and in this respect, southeastern Anatolia will
gain a special importance, the US will put
special importance on the southeast in its Iraq
and Iran policies but when it needs the
southeast, the US has two different views
concerning Turkey. 1) One wing in the US
believes that cooperation should be forged with
a chosen political wing of Turkey when there is
a special need. They haven’t forgotten the pain
of Turkey’s rejection of US troop deployment for
the Iraq war in March 2003, but they think that
we learned our lesson However, another wing
thinks the Turkish government unreliable, while
the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is seen as more
reliable, despite certain problems back in 2003.
The
disharmony between the government and other
government agencies has become the heart of the
issue. The Anti-Terror Law became the litmus
test of the issue of who will govern the
situation. The TSK announced openly that
European Union harmonization laws prevented it
from acting effectively in the region. The
question of who will govern the southeast is in
the spotlight. The issue started to be discussed
as the ‘Kurdish issue’ last summer in Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s blunder. His
words were interpreted as a political approach
starting with the terrorist PKK. He couldn’t
overcome this impression and it damaged him.
However, the government failed to make changes
to the Anti-Terror Law considered a must for
fighting the PKK. When the incidents in Semdinli
happened, Turkish flags and Ataturk’s portraits
were burned and it was as if an official hand
was making certain interventions, just like the
Van’s public prosecutor said in his indictment.
This indictment is being discussed only in terms
of Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit,
not as a whole. However, the issue can’t be
understood properly without discussing it as a
whole.”
ARCHIVE
The news and articles issued in the Turkish Press Review
may be quoted from provided due acknowledgement is made.
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