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Turkish Press Review, 06-06-20Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr><LINK href="http://www.byegm.gov.tr_yayinlarimiz_chr_pics_css/tpr.css" rel=STYLESHEET type=text/css> <style type="text_css"> <!-- .baslik { margin-right:0cm; margin-left:0cm; margin-top:1cm; font-size:12.0pt; color:#000099; text-align: justify; } --> <_style> e-mail : newspot@byegm.gov.tr <caption> <_caption> Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning20.06.2006FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] SCHOOLS BEGIN SUMMER VACATION; ERDOGAN SAYS GOVT IS WORKING FOR EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIESAttending a ceremony yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan handed out report cards to students. Addressing the gathering, Erdogan said that government efforts were directed at providing equal educational opportunities for all students around the country. “The opportunities of students in Hakkari, Artvin, Van, and Edirne should be the same as in Ankara and Istanbul,” said Erdogan. “Our understanding of education necessitates this.” Saying that many countries have begun to give education through the Internet, Erdogan added that in Turkey only 24,000 of 44,000 schools now use Internet technology. “We’ll have completed an (high-speed Internet) ADSL system by 2006-07,” he said. “There should be information technology classes in every school.” In related news, the premier is due today to meet with Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) Chairman Omer Sabanci and High Advisory Council Chairman Mustafa Koc to discuss recent economic and political developments. /Milliyet/[02] ERDOGAN RECEIVES ITALIAN MINISTER BONINOPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday received Emma Bonino, Italy’s European policies and foreign trade minister. During the meeting, Bonino reportedly said, “We support Turkey’s European Union bid. We shouldn’t allow the Cyprus problem to halt this process.” /Cumhuriyet/[03] FM GUL: “REFORMS IN THE MUSLIM WORLD AREN’T A CHOICE BUT A NECESSITY”Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday went a step further in his reform calls to the Muslim world, saying that reforms weren’t a choice but rather a necessity for these nations to move forward. Speaking at the 33rd Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) foreign ministers’ meeting yesterday in Baku, Azerbaijan, Gul also spoke on the Palestinian-Israeli dispute, saying, “Palestine and Israel should accept their coexistence as two states.” He also stressed the necessity for dialogue in preventing a clash of civilizations, adding, “So we have proposed an alliance of civilizations. Reform isn’t a choice but a necessity if we want to respond to the problems of this century. It’s time now to take steps for reform.” In his speech, OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, a Turkish scholar, asked for the Protocol on Preferential Tariff Scheme (PRETAS) to be implemented in order to boost trade among OIC member countries. /Hurriyet/[04] FM GUL MEETS WITH MOTTAKIForeign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday met with his Iranian counterpart Manoucher Mottaki in Baku. During the meeting, Gul urged Mottaki to respond to the six-nation incentive package before the G-8 foreign ministers meeting set for June 29. Gul told Mottaki that Turkey didn’t want a new problem in the region and hoped for a positive result from the incentive package prepared by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany in Vienna. “To be perfectly clear, we want a peaceful solution and we want to get a result for this as soon as possible,” he said. /Hurriyet/[05] CICEK: “THE GOVT IS MOVING DECISIVELY ON TURKEY’S EU PROCESS”Justice Minister Cemil Cicek said yesterday that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government was decisive on Turkey’s European Union accession process. Speaking to reporters following a five-hour Cabinet meeting in Ankara, Cicek dismissed recent charges that Turkey had begun to act slowly in its EU process. Stressing that 25 preliminary and 19 detailed screenings have been completed so far, Cicek said that there were no shortcomings on the steps needed, adding that the EU membership process was a bumpy road full of difficulties. He pledged that Ankara would keep its promises and commitments, but also was expecting the same from the EU. /Turkiye/[06] ARINC TO PAY VISIT TO BULGARIAParliament Speaker Bulent Arinc is scheduled to start a three-day official visit to Bulgaria tomorrow at the invitation of his counterpart, Georgi Pirinski. On the first day of his visit Arinc will meet with Pirinski, President Georgi Parvanov and Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev. On Thursday, Arinc will visit the new office of the Turkish-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. On the last day of his stay, he is scheduled to meet with Deputy Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin before he heads for the city of Plovdiv. /Turkish Daily News/[07] AT US-EU SUMMIT, BUSH TO EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S EU BIDUS President George W. Bush is expected to reiterate support for Turkey’s European Union membership bid at a US-EU summit to be held in Vienna, Austria tomorrow. Addressing the gathering, Bush is expected to stress the importance of continuing Turkey’s EU talks, adding that the EU will also benefit from this. /Sabah/[08] PAKISTANI AIR FORCE COMMANDER AHMED VISITS TURKEYTurkish Air Forces Commander Gen. Faruk Comert yesterday awarded the Order of Merit to his visiting Pakistani counterpart Gen. Tanvir Mehmood Ahmed on behalf of Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok. Ahmed said that the award was an honor for him and had strengthened his will for cooperation. /Cumhuriyet/[09] TOBB HEAD MEETS WITH ITALIAN TRADE MINISTERItaly’s European Policies and Foreign Trade Minister Emma Bonino, currently in Ankara for an official visit, yesterday met with Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) head Rifat Hisarciklioglu to discuss a number of issues, including bilateral relations. During their meeting, Bonino stated that everyone should be determined to overcome the problem of opening Turkish harbors and airports to Greek Cyprus. Bonino further stated that her first official visit to Turkey underlined the importance Italy places on Turkey. “We should join forces and work to counter China,” she added. For his part, Hisarciklioglu said that Italy was the number seven country in terms of foreign capital investments in Turkey. /Sabah/[10] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS[11] PRIME MINISTER’S STANCE AGAINST THE EU BY SERDAR TURGUT (AKSAM)Columnist Serdar Turgut comments on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent remarks about the European Union. A summary of his column is as follows:“Of course opposition parties think the opposite, but Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan should very well that his latest harsh stance against the European Union was largely supported by the public. As far as I can tell, they have been waiting for such remarks against Europe for a long time, being patient concerning the hateful and derogatory stance against Turkey during the most critical period of our membership process and waiting for others to respond accordingly. So his remarks against Europe found support. Europe’s stance played an important role in spurring a nationalist reaction against the government, and Cyprus sensitivities also played a role in this. It can be said that with his latest remarks Erdogan snatched the biggest trump card from the hands of the nationalists. So this speech is important enough to possibly tip our country’s political scales in favor of the government. The Cyprus issue is one of the most key stress points of this country. The Cyprus issue’s impact on our EU bid was considered an issue that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) would find difficult to solve. But Erdogan executed a clever maneuver with good timing and thus turned the political energy in the nation into something favoring him. In my column on the day of the speech, I asked if Europe can really understand what’s happening in Turkey. I said that I had my doubts and that the government had reached the breaking point due to Europe’s harsh stance on issues that we find sensitive. I also wrote that the government had started to think that if necessary, we could give up our EU membership bid. Before the ink on this article even dried, Erdogan showed his sharp stance against the EU. Now the nation will expect the government to continue to refuse to make concessions. Therefore, our relations with the EU might enter a bumpy road where there might be accidents. We should be prepared for this politically and keep our morale high, because becoming an EU member by making many concessions would be against Turkey’s national interests. The government is trying to get what we want without making concessions, because it knows that a European Turkey is necessary for the future of not only Turkey, but also Europe. The Europeans know this as well. We still have trump cards, and Erdogan has already started to play them.” [12] WILL TUSIAD GIVE ITS SUPPORT? BY AYDIN AYAYDIN (SABAH)Columnist Aydin Ayaydin comments on the meeting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) representatives. A summary of his column is as follows:“After the start of our European Union accession talks, Turkey was criticized for slowing down its relations with the EU. The Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) and other business groups were talking about it a lot. These discussions were top news with the de facto start of the accession talks last week. The TUSIAD administration organized visits to various EU capitals. TUSIAD Advisory Board head Mustafa Koc and Administrative Board head Omer Sabanci will meet today with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Their impressions of the EU visit are on the official agenda of this meeting. Economic developments will also reportedly be on the agenda. Another important aspect of this meeting is that it will take place right after TUSIAD made accusations about secularism and government’s handling of the economy. Some say that relations between the government and TUSIAD will be normalized after this meeting. I have a question in mind. Erdogan made hash remarks about Cyprus and said: ‘We won’t accept the opening of our ports to the Greek Cypriots unless the EU lifts the isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), even if our accession talks are halted.’ Some saw this as a sign of early elections. Many claim that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) would lose votes if it makes even a small concession on Cyprus and that’s why he adopted a tough stance. In this respect this meeting is important. The Istanbul Chamber of Industrialists (ISO) applauded Erdogan’s sharp remarks. I wonder what TUSIAD thinks about it. Will they support Erdogan? Or will they say: ‘We’re with you as businessmen, and don’t back down on Cyprus.’ If this is true, then the EU has strengthened relations between the government and TUSIAD. We’ll see.” ARCHIVE <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js"> </script> Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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