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Turkish Press Review, 06-03-27
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
27.03.2006
ERDOGAN ADDRESSES HIS PARTY IN
ANKARA
CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “THERE COULD
BE A LOSS OF CONFIDENCE”
AGAR: “WE’LL SOLVE THE NATION’S
PROBLEMS”
WASHINGTON WOOS TURKEY’S
SUPPORT AGAINST IRAN
PAPADOPOULOS WANTS TO MEET WITH
TALAT
TURKEY DIVISIONS DIVIDE EU
AS THY FLIGHTS BEGIN,
TRANSPORTATION MINISTER VISITS OMAN
BABACAN: “THE CB’S INDEPENDENCE
WON’T CHANGE WHOEVER BECOMES GOVERNOR”
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
THE ARAB LEAGUE AND THE EU
BY ERDAL SAFAK (SABAH)
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN ADDRESSES HIS PARTY IN
ANKARA
[02] CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “THERE COULD BE
A LOSS OF CONFIDENCE”
[03] AGAR: “WE’LL SOLVE THE NATION’S
PROBLEMS”
[04] WASHINGTON WOOS TURKEY’S SUPPORT
AGAINST IRAN
[05] PAPADOPOULOS WANTS TO MEET WITH
TALAT
[06] IRAQ SPLIT WITH THE US
[07] TURKEY DIVISIONS DIVIDE EU
[08] AS THY FLIGHTS BEGIN,
TRANSPORTATION MINISTER VISITS OMAN
[09] BABACAN: “THE CB’S INDEPENDENCE
WON’T CHANGE WHOEVER BECOMES GOVERNOR”
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[11] THE ARAB LEAGUE AND THE EU
BY ERDAL SAFAK (SABAH)
[01] ERDOGAN ADDRESSES HIS PARTY IN
ANKARA
Speaking
at a meeting of his party in Ankara over the
weekend, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
commented on opposition Republican People’s
Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal’s criticisms of
the Central Bank governor appointment process,
saying that Baykal should mind his own business
and his own house. Touching on Turkey’s European
Union membership bid, Erdogan said that no one
should try to derail the nation’s EU bid, adding
that in three years the Justice and Development
Party (AKP) government had fulfilled Union
criteria which former governments couldn’t do in
40. He stressed that if Turkey manages to
transform sporadic development into a true
development process, then it would become a
“star country” in the upcoming period. In
related news, Erdogan is due to travel to Sudan
today to attend a two-day Arab League Summit in
the capital of Khartoum. /Star/
[02] CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “THERE COULD BE
A LOSS OF CONFIDENCE”
Main
opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP)
leader Deniz Baykal yesterday criticized the
government again. Speaking to CNN Turk, Baykal
said that appointment of the Central Bank
governor shouldn’t be seen as an area for
political struggle, adding, “Today, the CB is
set up as an independent institution and
Turkey’s relation with the world finance system
has advanced greatly by relying on the policies
which the CB implements.” Baykal stated that
stability in the Turkish economy could not be
provided by hot money, and also warned about a
loss of confidence. Baykal cited a statement by
the IMF head saying, “You might fall into a loss
of confidence.” Also touching on the recent
Semdinli indictment debates, Baykal said that
the indictment prepared in Van on the incidents
wasn’t a legal document. /Star/
[03] AGAR: “WE’LL SOLVE THE NATION’S
PROBLEMS”
Opposition
True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar
yesterday criticized the government, saying that
his party would solve the nation’s problems.
“We’ll come to power in order to put an end to
poverty,” he said. “We’ll create new jobs and
achieve economic development. We’re the cure for
those who seek jobs abroad since they couldn’t
find any in Turkey.” /Turkiye/
[04] WASHINGTON WOOS TURKEY’S SUPPORT
AGAINST IRAN
After not getting what it
wanted three years ago from the Turkish
Parliament on the eve of the Iraq war, the U.S.
is now taking a closer look at the groups within
Parliament. The US’ Ankara Embassy has
accelerated lobbying to learn the attitude of
the government and opposition on the Iran
nuclear crisis. US diplomats have increased
their contacts with deputies in order to find
support for their push on Iran. US diplomats
have determined the leading names of the
political parties and frequently invite deputies
to luncheons held at the embassy. The US’ change
on its Iran strategy is being explained, and a
message for solving the problem through
political pressure rather than military action
is being conveyed during luncheons where
deputies from all parties are invited. /Aksam/
[05] PAPADOPOULOS WANTS TO MEET WITH
TALAT
Greek
Cypriot news agency CNA reported yesterday that
Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos has
expressed his wish to meet with Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali
Talat to discuss humanitarian issues, mainly
connected to missing persons. Papadopoulos
stated he hoped this meeting would take place
“if and when the first missing persons session
takes place together with Red Cross
representatives, and this would be the only
topic of the session.” /Turkiye/
[06] IRAQ SPLIT WITH THE US
A
statement by Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the US
Joint Chiefs of Staff, saying , “Iraq has to get
stronger to conduct a fight against the
terrorist PKK,” has once more revealed the
profound split between the US and Ankara over
fighting the terrorist PKK and again shown
Washington’s unwillingness to grapple with the
terror group. During his visit to Ankara, Gen.
Pace was asked when initiatives would be
accelerated on the PKK presence in northern
Iraq. Gen. Pace said that the conditions in the
region had become more serious due to risks
there but that they were doing their best.
“After the Iraqi security forces are ready, the
US, Iraq and Turkey can work jointly on the
PKK,” added Gen. Pace. /Cumhuriyet/
[07] TURKEY DIVISIONS DIVIDE EU
The demand by a group of
European Union countries, led by France, to
bring political criteria to chapters in Turkey’s
negotiations has led to factions in the EU.
Diplomats of EU countries gathered on the
working group level couldn’t reach a consensus
on France’s proposal. Many EU countries have
reportedly supported France, not including
Denmark or EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli
Rehn. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] AS THY FLIGHTS BEGIN,
TRANSPORTATION MINISTER VISITS OMAN
Transportation
Minister Binali Yildirim yesterday traveled to
Oman’s capital Muscat to mark the beginning of
Turkish Airlines (THY) flights from Doha, Qatar
to Muscat. During his stay, Yildirim met with
Omani Industry Minister Maqbool Bin Ali Sultan
to discuss a number of issues. Speaking
afterwards, Yildirim said that flights from
Istanbul to Muscat via Doha were a door from
Turkey to Gulf countries, adding that there were
increasing relations between Turkey and Gulf
countries. Yildirim said that he and Sultan had
discussed ways for Turkish businessmen to
contribute to Oman in the construction and
contracting sectors. /Turkiye/
[09] BABACAN: “THE CB’S INDEPENDENCE
WON’T CHANGE WHOEVER BECOMES GOVERNOR”
State
Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan yesterday
commented on the ongoing process of finding a
new Central Bank governor, saying that the
foreign exchange rate, capital movement, price
stability and Central Bank’s independence
wouldn’t change whoever is appointed CB head.
“The basic policies of the CB will remain the
same,” said Babacan. “No one should question the
credibility of the CB.” He stressed that the
CB’s priority was price stability, which would
never change. “We won’t forsake the current
foreign exchange policy,” he said, adding that
forsaking the policy would mean playing with
fire. Babacan further stated that Turkey’s
relations with the International Monetary Fund
were better than ever. /Hurriyet/
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[11] THE ARAB LEAGUE AND THE EU
BY ERDAL SAFAK (SABAH)
Columnist Erdal Safak comments on the Turkey’s
relations with the Arab League. A summary of his
column is as follows:
“The
visit to be paid by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan to Sudan today has gotten little public
attention. However, this visit constitutes the
turning point of the Justice and Development
Party’s (AKP) openings. Turkey is now embracing
the Arab world, which it turned its back on when
it was founded in 1923. His visit to Sudan will
rank among his top contacts abroad, because
Erdogan will not only go to Sudan’s capital of
Khartoum, but also participate in the Arab
League summit as an honorary guest. What’s more,
Turkey is participating among the members of
Arab League in this summit with the title of
‘permanent guest.’ The Turkish public isn’t
aware of the importance of this visit, but all
the foreign capitals are looking at it. They
know that this visit is a breaking point, or to
put in better, the operation of mending broken
bones. They’re right, because Erdogan’s joining
the Arab League summit means the end of Turkey’s
80-year policies amounting to ‘An Arab can’t be
a friend.’
Now,
let’s summarize the process of Turkey’s move
towards the Arab League. During Erdogan’s visit
to Cairo in January 2003 just after the AKP came
to power, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
delivered Turkey’s request to join the bloc to
Arab League General Secretary Amr Moussa. This
initiative got a lot of debate in the 22-member
group. Those who opposed it listed many reasons,
including Kemalist secularism and the special
relationship between Turkey and Israel. Some of
them even cited identity and culture by saying
that Arabic will soon be a minority language in
the Arab League. They’re just like the Europeans
who oppose Turkey’s European Union membership
for similar reasons. What’s more, last year’s
Arab League summit in Algeria turned into a show
of those opposed to Turkey. Even Libya leader
Muammar Qaddafi insulted Turkey, and most of the
participants welcomed his stance with laughter.
However, this in now all gone. The process of
approving a ‘memorandum of understanding’ signed
by Gul and Amr Moussa in September 2004 in New
York was completed, and Erdogan was officially
invited to the summit to be held in Khartoum. As
I mentioned at the beginning, Turkey’s Arab
League membership can help solve such problems
as the dialogue of civilizations and the
consensus of religions, for the following
reasons:
? In addition to Turkey, NATO will also
be represented in the Arab League (let’s not
forget that we’re the only member of NATO from
the Islamic world). ? A bridge is being
established between Turkey and the European
Union and the Arab League. Now the EU and the
Arab League will be able to produce common
policies through Ankara. ? With Turkey,
the Arab League is embracing a Muslim world
which established the first diplomatic
relationship with Israel and which has sound
relations of alliance with this country.
Who
knows, maybe this development will open the way
for former Israeli Prime Minister Simon Perez’s
vision: ‘One day, we’ll participate in the Arab
League and then it will become the Middle East
League’.”
ARCHIVE
The news and articles issued in the Turkish Press Review
may be quoted from provided due acknowledgement is made.
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