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Turkish Press Review, 06-03-13
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
13.03.2006
PRESIDENT SEZER: “OUR NATIONAL
ANTHEM SYMBOLIZES THE TURKISH NATION’S LOVE FOR
ITS COUNTRY AND FLAG”
ERDOGAN ADDRESSES AKP WEEKEND
RETREAT
FM GUL: “ISRAEL’S NUCLEAR
PROGRAM IS ALSO DANGEROUS”
PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE 3RD
CENSURE MOTION AGAINST UNAKITAN
IN DENIZLI, AGAR CRITICIZES
GOVT’S ECONOMIC POLICIES
TALAT LEAVES ISTANBUL HOSPITAL
TO RETURN TO TRNC
COUNCIL OF STATE HEAD CETINKAYA
TO RETIRE NEXT MONTH
EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK TO
PROVIDE TURKEY WITH 3 BLN EUROS CREDIT
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
BY SEMIH IDIZ (MILLIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] PRESIDENT SEZER: “OUR NATIONAL
ANTHEM SYMBOLIZES THE TURKISH NATION’S LOVE FOR
ITS COUNTRY AND FLAG”
[02] ERDOGAN ADDRESSES AKP WEEKEND
RETREAT
[03] FM GUL: “ISRAEL’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM
IS ALSO DANGEROUS”
[04] PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE 3RD CENSURE
MOTION AGAINST UNAKITAN
[05] IN DENIZLI, AGAR CRITICIZES GOVT’S
ECONOMIC POLICIES
[06] TALAT LEAVES ISTANBUL HOSPITAL TO
RETURN TO TRNC
[07] COUNCIL OF STATE HEAD CETINKAYA TO
RETIRE NEXT MONTH
[08] EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK TO PROVIDE
TURKEY WITH 3 BLN EUROS CREDIT
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[10] WASHINGTON-BAKU RELATIONS
[11] BY SEMIH IDIZ (MILLIYET)
[01] PRESIDENT SEZER: “OUR NATIONAL
ANTHEM SYMBOLIZES THE TURKISH NATION’S LOVE FOR
ITS COUNTRY AND FLAG”
The
85th anniversary of the Turkish national
anthem’s acceptance by Parliament was
commemorated nationwide on Sunday. President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer released a message marking
the day. Sezer said that the national anthem is
a unique work of literature that symbolizes the
Turkish nation’s love for its country and flag,
its passion for living in independence, its
robust stance against injustice, and its
national unity and integrity. In a written
statement, Sezer emphasized that the real story
of the anthem was based on the Turkish War of
Independence, before the establishment of the
Turkish Republic, and said that the anthem is an
epic story that was written by the Turks who
fought for the independence of the Turkish
nation. The composer of the anthem, Mehmet Akif
Ersoy, was also remembered in ceremonies at his
house, which is now a museum. /Hurriyet/
[02] ERDOGAN ADDRESSES AKP WEEKEND
RETREAT
Speaking
at ruling Justice and Development Party’s Sixth
Consultation and Assessment Meeting in
Kizilcahamam over
the weekend, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
gave important messages. Erdogan worked to
squelch speculation about early elections,
saying, “We have nearly two years before the
next elections.” Erdogan listened to deputies’
proposals and criticisms for two days and
answered them during the last day of the
retreat. Erdogan said that the new Central Bank
governor hadn’t been decided yet, but that this
would become clear in a few days. Erdogan
yesterday urged all his deputies to stand
against a censure motion targeting Finance
Minister Kemal Unakitan set for debate in
Parliament this week. /Turkiye/
[03] FM GUL: “ISRAEL’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM
IS ALSO DANGEROUS”
Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul over the weekend said that
the nuclear programs of both Iran and Israel
posed a threat, and added that the European
Union leaders had appreciated Turkey’s stance
when a Hamas delegation visited last month.
Speaking at the ruling Justice and Development
Party’s (AKP) Sixth Consultation and Assessment
Meeting in Kizilcahamam over the weekend, Gul
said, “The Israelis say that they don’t have a
nuclear program. But 25-30 years ago, people
were saying that Israel had a nuclear program.
If Iran’s is dangerous, Israel’s is dangerous
too. All countries should be open to UN
inspection.” Also touching on the controversial
Hamas visit, Gul said that the EU leaders had
praised Ankara’s “great courage,” adding, “We
convinced Sunnis in Iraq to take part in the
elections. Otherwise, Iraq was about to fall
apart. Now, there isn’t such a risk.” /Milliyet/
[04] PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE 3RD CENSURE
MOTION AGAINST UNAKITAN
Parliament has a heavy workload this week, with
a third censure motion against Finance Minister
Kemal Unakitan set for consideration. On Tuesday
deputies will discuss whether to take the third
motion presented by the main opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP) onto
Parliament’s agenda. Two censure motions against
Unakitan were earlier rejected by lawmakers, on
a party-line vote dominated by the government.
/The New Anatolian/
[05] IN DENIZLI, AGAR CRITICIZES GOVT’S
ECONOMIC POLICIES
Speaking at a meeting of his party in Denizli
over the weekend, opposition True Path Party
(DYP) leader Mehmet Agar criticized the
government’s economic policies. Claiming that
the government couldn’t solve the problems of
the nation, Agar stated that farmers were facing
hard times. “The situation of small
manufacturers is as terrible as the farmers’,”
he said. “Small industrialists in the organized
industrial zones are shutting their doors.
Unemployment is rising rapidly.” Saying that the
nation is mired in poverty, Agar added that the
DYP would solve this problem. /Turkiye/
[06] TALAT LEAVES ISTANBUL HOSPITAL TO
RETURN TO TRNC
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
President Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday returned to
the TRNC after being discharged from the
Istanbul hospital where he had been recovering
from surgery. Speaking at a press conference
before leaving, Talat said that he couldn’t
comment on political issues since he had been
away from his post for about two weeks, adding
that he was fully ready to return to his duties.
Talat added that the operation had been a
success and he had no health problems. /Sabah/
[07] COUNCIL OF STATE HEAD CETINKAYA TO
RETIRE NEXT MONTH
Council of State head Ender Cetinkaya will
retire on April 3 upon reaching mandatory
retirement age. The retirement of Cetinkaya, who
has held the post for nearly two years, will
start a race for his seat on the top court.
Acting Chairmen Tansel Colasan and Gonul
Onbilgin, 2nd Department head Mustafa Birden,
3rd Department head Gursoy Gonenc, 4th
Department head Sumru Cortoglu, 5th Department
head Turan Falcioglu and 9th Department head
Arif Yuksel are all expected to be candidates
for Cetinkaya’s post. /Turkiye/
[08] EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK TO PROVIDE
TURKEY WITH 3 BLN EUROS CREDIT
The
European Investment Bank is due to provide
Turkey with 3 billion euros project credit this
year under its Southeastern European Region
Program. Turkey’s small- and medium-size
enterprises (SMEs) are expected to get the
biggest share of the credit. However, Turkey
needs to prepare a project in order to obtain
this credit. In addition, next year the European
Union’s fiscal aid to Turkey within structural
funds is expected to rise considerably.
/Turkiye/
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[10] WASHINGTON-BAKU RELATIONS
[11] BY SEMIH IDIZ (MILLIYET)
Columnist Semih Idiz comments on relations
between the US and Azerbaijan and Turkey’s place
in them. A summary of his column is as follows:
“Possible US plans to invade Iran have raised
Azerbaijan’s strategic importance for
Washington. This situation is infuriating
Yerevan and the Armenian lobby, because their
hopes for turning the anti-Turkish wind – raised
over such factors as Hamas’ visit to Ankara and
the anti-American film ‘Valley of the Wolves
Iraq’ – into an advantage in the US Congress are
now fading. The Azerbaijani people reject the
so-called Armenian claims as much as Turks do.
In short, the Bush administration knows that an
Armenian “genocide” resolution would make not
only Turks, but also Azerbaijanis angry.
Therefore, the possibility that April 24 will be
declared ‘Armenian genocide commemoration day’
in the US seems to be weak this year as well.
This time the tide is working against the
Armenians due to Iran. Meanwhile, the US
administration is taking certain steps pleasing
Azerbaijanis and Ankara even at the cost of
making Armenians angry. I can give two examples:
1. Washington is preparing to bring home
its Ambassador to Yerevan John Marshall Evans
before his term of office ends, because,
speaking to US Armenians last year in
California, Evans said that he would call the
incidents of 1915 a genocide, no matter what
other people call them. This incident made the
Azerbaijanis very angry. Meanwhile, this made
the US angry, too, because it contradicts its
current policy. Firstly, it forced Evans to say
that these words were only his personal opinion
and then prevented the American Foreign Service
Association (AFSA) from giving him an order of
merit. Now it’s preparing to send US Ambassador
to Tajikistan Richart Hoagland to replace him.
2. The US administration is moving to water
down a law which was passed by Congress under
the pressure of the Armenian lobby. This law
envisages a balance in US military aid extended
to Armenia and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s
strategic importance, which rose after Sept. 11,
has actually caused this balance to spoil.
The
administration wants Congress’ approval so more
military aid is sent to Azerbaijan than Armenia.
In addition, Washington started to make its
importance felt more for a solution of the
Montenegro issue. It sent Deputy Secretary of
State Matt Bryza to the region last week and it
will send Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried this
week. This liveliness of course increases
Armenians’ suspicions. Meanwhile, Scott Ritter,
former weapons inspector of the United Nations,
explained Azerbaijan’s importance for the US in
terms of the Iran issue in an article on
aljazeera.net. According to Ritter, Washington
is preparing Azerbaijan for a possible military
operation against the regime in Tehran.
Meanwhile, it’s also watching the population of
northern Iran, which consists mostly of ethnic
Azerbaijanis. We can’t know if Ritter is right
on this issue. However, it’s true that military
relations between the US and Azerbaijan have
developed rapidly. This situation provides
Turkey with an important ‘strengthening’ element
against the Armenian lobby in the US.
ARCHIVE
The news and articles issued in the Turkish Press Review
may be quoted from provided due acknowledgement is made.
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