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Turkish Press Review, 07-08-14Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning14.08.2007CONTENTS
[01] AKP DECIDES TO AGAIN NOMINATE GUL FOR PRESIDENTThe ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will once again nominate Kayseri Deputy and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to be its presidential candidate. The party made the decision following a two-and-a-half-hour meeting yesterday of its Central Executive Board (MYK). Gul will reportedly visit opposition party leaders in Parliament to seek their support for the presidential balloting to begin next Monday, starting today with Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli. Gul’s candidacy this spring was rejected by the opposition parties, leading to early general elections and a stronger mandate for the ruling AKP. /Aksam/[02] ERDOGAN EXPECTED TO PRESENT NEW CABINET LIST TO SEZER ON THURSDAYPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was appointed by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer to establish a new Cabinet, is expected to present his list of proposed Cabinet ministers to the president on Thursday. Speaking to reporters yesterday after the Cabinet meeting, State Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said that they had evaluated recent developments and that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan might present his Cabinet list to the president during their regular weekly meeting on Thursday. Asked about Ankara’s recent water shortage, Sahin said that the problem resulted from global warming and that officials from the Ankara Greater Municipality were working hard to solve the issue. /Hurriyet/[03] MHP: “WE DON’T WANT THE UPCOMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TO CREATE NEW CHAOS”Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, just chosen to again be the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) presidential candidate, is planning to meet with opposition party leaders to seek common ground. Opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy leader Oktay Vural yesterday said that they would be in Parliament next week for the presidential vote, adding, “The MHP is still leaning towards fielding our own candidate.” MHP Secretary General Cihan Pacaci also said that the ruling AKP could elect its candidate by the third round of balloting and added, “We don’t want the presidential election to create new chaos.” /Sabah/[04] SEZER: “OUR RESISTANCE WOULD BE STRONG”Opposition Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Zeki Sezer yesterday said that it is in Turkey’s interest that an impartial person becomes president and added, “If they (the ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP) take steps towards real compromise, we could do the same. But if they try to impose something, our resistance would be strong, even though we don’t have many deputies.” He added that the next president would be “the president of Turkey, not just the people who voted for the AKP.” Meanwhile, DSP Secretary General Masum Turker said that they would make a decision after evaluating the presidential candidacy of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, set to be nominated by the AKP. “The AKP didn’t take the steps that it did during the recent Parliament speaker election,” he said. “This situation contradicts the AKP’s statements.” In related news, main opposition Republican People’s Party deputy leader Onur Oymen said of Gul’s candidacy, “Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that there would be compromise. We would expect him to be live up to his statements.” /Cumhuriyet-Star/[05] IRAQI FM ZEBARI: “OUR LEADERS SUPPORTED MALIKI’S TALKS IN ANKARA”Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said yesterday that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani had given their support to the memorandum of understanding which Premier Nouri al-Maliki signed during his visit to Ankara last week. Speaking to reporters, Zebari said recent statements indicating that Iraqi Kurdish leaders had not approved of Maliki’s statements in Ankara and the memorandum of understanding were beneath consideration. He stated that he met with Talabani and Barzani in Baghdad yesterday morning to evaluate Maliki’s meetings in Ankara and that they were glad with the outcome of the visit. Zebari added that Talabani and Barzani had no objection to Maliki’s remark saying that Iraqis were opposed to terrorist organizations in their country, including the PKK. /Turkiye/FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... [06] DIGESTING GULBY OKAY GONENSIN (VATAN)Columnist Okay Gonensin comments on the presidential election process. A summary of his column is as follows: “The reason for the political crisis which caused Turkey to hold early elections last month was the blocking of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul being elected president. The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) upped the tension and then a legal reason making the election impossible was found; the General Staff issued a Internet notice saying that it doesn’t want somebody from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) whose wife wears a headscarf to become president. Then elections were held and this question went to the people. In last month’s general elections one out of every two voters supported the AKP and Gul. It has already become unnecessary and meaningless to discuss this result through citing forced reasons or imaginary analyses. Complex legal discussions and gauging the importance of public demonstrations which criticized Gul’s candidacy are things of the past. The ballot box gave a mandate to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and criticized how Gul’s presidency was blocked. We can’t say how important the Gul issue is for voters. But research indicates that the more Erdogan highlighted this issue, the more people leaned towards the AKP. As the leader of a party which won a great election success, Erdogan got the right to have the real voice in the presidential elections. He could have also considered other candidates in order not to cause a crisis at the beginning of his party’s second term. It’s always right to consider other efforts and alternatives in every situation. As far as I know, Erdogan made such efforts, but in fact only one reason remained for not seeking Gul’s candidacy. This reason is related to the criticism of the General Staff which intervened in April’s aborted presidential election. Obviously, many people will find it difficult to stomach it if somebody whose wife wears a headscarf and who has complained about Turkey to the European Court of Human Rights over the headscarf issue is elected president. But democracy requires this. Half of the country approved of Gul’s candidacy and the other half has to respect this. Gul has held the posts of both foreign minister and prime minister (in late 2002 and early 2003 when Erdogan was clearing up his ban from holding office). Considering his presidency a harbinger of future ‘disasters’ is a very exaggerated and excessively emotional reaction. While carrying out his duty at the top of the state, he will show if people were right to have doubts about him. We even wouldn’t want to think about the possibility of any foreign intervention. Democracy is a real regime of ‘digestion’ and listening to and understanding each other. No matter how we might resent seeing Mrs. Gul at the Presidential Palace, the way Gul performs his duty is the essential issue.” [07] IS TURKEY THE WEAKEST LINK?BY ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM (SABAH)Abdurrahman Yildirim comments on Turkey’s position amid recent global economic fluctuations. A summary of his column is as follows: “Turkey was the country the most affected by last year’s moderate economic fluctuations. Its stock market went down the most while its national currency was shaken and its interests were rocked. Because Turkey both felt the impact of global markets and was hurt when Central Bank appointments were delayed, inflation rose and two elections were on the horizon. Although the fluctuations settled, the performance difference between Turkey and similar countries lasted for months. When the political uncertainty started to lessen ahead of elections, this difference closed to a certain extent. In the wake of last month’s general elections, we’re experiencing new fluctuations right now. At least we aren’t facing rising inflation or a new appointment crisis. Uncertainty over the presidential election has ended to some extent. Even if the election is troublesome, its adverse effect on the markets may be marginal. Is Turkey still the weakest link to be affected by the winds of global markets even after the new developments and uncertainties are overcome? Observers say that the global problem " a liquidity crisis " has so far been experienced in developed markets and will hit developing countries, including Turkey, if it goes further. Countries with high current account deficits as well as those exporting raw materials are thought of as the weakest links. These countries include South Africa, Ireland, Hungary, Indonesia and the Philippines and even Brazil and Argentina as well as Turkey. In fact, the elimination of political uncertainty may not protect us so much. Even inflation and high interest rates may not be enough. The real question here is the current account deficit. Countries with high current account deficits are affected the most, while those with surpluses are mostly insulated. But every country is affected. It’s a great advantage for Turkey that its foreign exchange account is on a larger scale. This may alleviate the effect of capital outflow from Turkey. The sale of foreign currency by the domestic markets cushioned the effect of the fluctuation on Turkey. This year domestic markets sold foreign currency at difficult times, as they did last year. But the difference is that currency accounts rose by $32 billion, which may keep us from being the country hit the hardest.” Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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