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Turkish Press Review, 06-04-14
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
14.04.2006
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONTENTS
[01] OIC PARLIAMENTARIANS UNION RECOGNIZES TRNC AS “CYPRIOT TURKISH STATE”
[02] BANGLADESHI PM ZIA VISITS ANKARA
[03] GUL MEETS WITH POLISH FOREIGN MINISTER
[04] SAHIN: “OUR GOVERNMENT IS SENSITIVE TO PROPER IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF SECULARISM”
[05] PARLIAMENT PASSES SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM PACKAGE
[06] ANKARA HOSTS NUCLEAR ENERGY SUMMIT
[07] GREENS’ ROTH: “TURKEY’S SITUATION CONCERNS US”
[08] DANISH AMBASSADOR HOPPE: “THE PKK IS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION”
[09] WORLD BANK, TURKEY SIGN CREDIT AGREEMENT
[10] BABACAN: “EVERYONE SHOULD CONSIDER EXCHANGE RATE RISK WHILE DOING BUSINESS”
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[12] INTENSITY OF REFORMS BY ERDAL GUVEN (RADIKAL)
[01] OIC PARLIAMENTARIANS UNION RECOGNIZES TRNC AS “CYPRIOT TURKISH STATE”
The Organization for the Islamic Conference Parliamentarians Union, meeting
in Istanbul, yesterday decided unanimously to recognize the Turkish
Republic of Northern as the “Cypriot Turkish State.” Reading out the final
declaration, Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc praised the result as
“very successful.” Commenting on the decision, which wasn’t in the final
declaration, Arinc said that the final declaration was very comprehensive
and included almost all issues. The declaration stated that reforms in
member states would be supported, adding that this reform process would
promote freedom and welfare in the Islamic world. /Milliyet/
[02] BANGLADESHI PM ZIA VISITS ANKARA
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met with Bangladeshi Prime
Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. After the meeting, Erdogan told a joint press
conference that the level of commerce between Bangladesh and Turkey should
be brought up. Erdogan also said that Turkey always gratefully remembers
Bangladesh’s material and spiritual support during the War of Independence.
Zia said that she had had a very open and useful meeting with Premier
Erdogan, adding that they had discussed cooperation opportunities on
bilateral and international issues. At the press conference, Zia also
stated that there were discussions on ending the Turkish Cypriots’
isolation and that she was confident that there would be a solution to the
problem. /Turkiye/
[03] GUL MEETS WITH POLISH FOREIGN MINISTER
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday met with his Polish counterpart
Stefan Meller in Ankara. During their talks, the two top diplomats
discussed bilateral relations. At a press conference, afterwards, citing
the Polish Parliament’s decision last year on the so-called Armenian
genocide, Gul conveyed Turkey’s concern over the matter. Stressing that the
issue should be taken up by historians, not politicians, Gul said the move
could encourage Armenians. Turkey has offered to Armenia to investigate the
matter, but has so far gotten no reply, added Gul. For his part, Meller
stated that his government’s support for Turkey’s European Union membership
bid would continue. /Turkiye/
[04] SAHIN: “OUR GOVERNMENT IS SENSITIVE TO PROPER IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
PRINCIPLE OF SECULARISM”
The government yesterday defended its personnel policies and reiterated
that it was committed to protecting secularism, one day after President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer made unusually blunt comments saying that Turkey’s
secular regime was under threat from Islamic fundamentalists. “I and our
government are as sensitive as our president to the proper implementation
of the principle of secularism and its protection,” said Deputy Prime
Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin. Sezer had told a gathering of military officers
on Wednesday, “Religious fundamentalism has reached alarming proportions.
Turkey’s only guarantee against this threat is its secular order.” /Turkish
Daily News/
[05] PARLIAMENT PASSES SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM PACKAGE
Following debates this week, a Social Security reform package was approved
by Parliament yesterday. The reform, which aims to cut Turkey’s large
social security deficit through more efficient management and raising the
retirement age, will bring Turkey’s three separate social security bodies
under one roof, namely the new Social Security Authority (SGK). /Turkiye/
[06] ANKARA HOSTS NUCLEAR ENERGY SUMMIT
Following the government’s decision this week to build a nuclear energy
power plant in Sinop, a meeting chaired by Energy and Natural Resources
Minister Hilmi Guler was held yesterday in Ankara. Representatives from 14
Turkish leading firms and government officials, including State Minister
Ali Babacan and Treasury Undersecretary Ibrahim Canakci, discussed the
matter and explored ways for investment in the plant. After the gathering,
Guler told reporters that the firms would submit their appraisals within
one month and that he expectsa model financed by both the government and
the private sector. /Sabah/
[07] GREENS’ ROTH: “TURKEY’S SITUATION CONCERNS US”
Claudia Roth, head of German opposition Greens Party, yesterday held
contacts at Turkey’s Parliament. She first visited Parliament Human Rights
Commission head Mehmet Elkatmis and said, “We are quite worried about the
current tense atmosphere in Turkey following these developments” in the
nation’s southeast. The Greens Party leader also raised her concern that
Turkey’s reform process has seemingly entered a stagnant period. Roth was
received by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and also met with
Parliament European Union Harmonization Commission head Yasar Yakis. /Star/
[08] DANISH AMBASSADOR HOPPE: “THE PKK IS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION”
Christian Hoppe, Danish ambassador to Ankara, yesterday stated that the PKK
is a terrorist organization and expressed his country’s continued support
to Turkey in its fight against terrorism. During his visit to Parliament’s
European Union Harmonization Commission, Hoppe also touched on the PPK-
linked Roj-TV issue, and said, “The Danish government cannot intervene in
an issue which is part of legal proceedings.” /Cumhuriyet/
[09] WORLD BANK, TURKEY SIGN CREDIT AGREEMENT
A credit agreement was signed yesterday between Turkey and the World Bank
for Southeastern European Energy Community Program. A joint statement from
the Treasury Undersecretariat and the WB said that a pact of 125 million
euros to support the third stage of the Southeastern European Energy
Community Program had been signed between Turkey and the WB. WB Turkey
Director Andrew Vorkink said that the Bank aimed to boost the efficiency
and capacity of energy transmission systems and to improve the access of
electricity consumers and producers to the market. /Aksam/
[10] BABACAN: “EVERYONE SHOULD CONSIDER EXCHANGE RATE RISK WHILE DOING
BUSINESS”
Addressing a joint meeting of the Mersin Chamber of Industry and Mersin
Chamber of Commerce yesterday, State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan
said that Turkey was in a new economic atmosphere, adding that everyone
should consider the exchange rate risk while doing business. Saying that
there was seasonal unemployment in Turkey and that the needs of the
business world weren’t in line with the skills of the unemployed, he added,
“Therefore, we’ll focus on vocational education.” Babacan added that he
didn’t agree with arguments that the YTL is overvalued. /Sabah/
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[12] INTENSITY OF REFORMS BY ERDAL GUVEN (RADIKAL)
Columnist Erdal Guven comments on the process of reforms in Turkey’s
European Union membership. A summary of his column is as follows:
“There’s a general belief in Europe that Turkey is suffering from reform
fatigue. Officials from the European Union and leading European journals
and newspapers are saying much the same. Actually, we can safely say that
the EU synergy before the December 2004 Brussels summit has been absent for
some time both on the government and public level. When Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul announced a reform package this week, obviously he aimed at
dispelling this atmosphere in Turkey and Europe. However, the package
excited neither Turkey nor the EU. So it didn’t do the job. So what’s the
problem? Firstly, we shouldn’t ignore that Turkey’s membership talks with
the EU have started. The genuine talks haven’t started yet, but the
screening is actually the first step of these talks. Thus, Turkey’s EU
membership process has settled into a systematic and institutional
framework and now this framework is being filled. So there’s no problem
with the process of membership, institutionally speaking.
However, it’s difficult to say the same thing politically and socially. The
negative stance of the European public and certain European countries, most
notably France and Austria, about Turkey’s membership has an impact on the
intensity of reforms. In polls, no EU country supports Turkey’s membership
more than 50%. France already passed the constitutional amendment which
ensures that the French people have the last word when the day of Turkey’s
membership comes. Under this, even if Turkey meets all the full membership
criteria, it can’t be a full member, if 51% of the French nation rejects
it. France’s impact on the EU is indisputable, and a recent study done in
Austria showed that opposition to Turkey’s membership has reached 90%. It
can’t be claimed that this picture doesn’t influence the political, social
and even intellectual ‘reform physiology’ in Turkey.
There’s also the Cyprus issue. The Justice and Development Party (AKP)
knows very well that there will be a ‘deadlock over harbors’ with the EU by
the end of this year. The EU considers the issue of opening Turkey’s
airports and harbors to Greek Cypriot planes and ships a technical process,
as if there’s no Cyprus issue and as if it’s not responsible for the
current state of the problem. Meanwhile, Ankara stresses that it won’t open
them as long as the restrictions on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC) aren’t lifted. Turkey will enter an elections atmosphere by the end
of this year, and any opening in terms of Cyprus will be seen as a
concession, and this would be the last thing that the AKP would want.
What’s more, there is an EU which didn’t keep its promises and didn’t start
direct trade with the TRNC. In other words, the atmosphere in Europe which
has emerged in the last two years is reflected in the way to overcoming the
harbor deadlock, its impact on Turkey’s EU membership process, and the
AKP’s resolve for reforms.”
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