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Turkish Press Review, 07-08-24
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
24.08.2007
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER TO MAKE FAREWELL VISITS TO ERDOGAN, BUYUKANIT
[02] PARLIAMENT TO HOLD SECOND ROUND OF PRESIDENTIAL VOTING TODAY
[03] ERDOGAN URGES ISRAELI PRESIDENT NOT TO SUPPORT ARMENIAN ALLEGATIONS
[04] GEN. COMERT HANDS OVER AIR FORCES COMMAND TO GEN. BABAOGLU
[05] DSP'S SEZER: “WE WILL VOTE FOR OUR OWN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE”
[06] IRAQI VP AL-HASHEMI ARRIVES IN TURKEY
[07] ISTANBUL FASHION FAIR BEGINS
[08] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[09] AKP’S CONCERNS FOR THE FUTURE
[01] SEZER TO MAKE FAREWELL VISITS TO ERDOGAN, BUYUKANIT
Outgoing President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, as part of his farewell visits to
top state officials, is set today to visit Prime Minister Recep Tayip
Erdogan and Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit. Sezer is expected
to make his final visit on Monday to recently elected Parliament Speaker
Koksal Toptan. /Hurriyet/
[02] PARLIAMENT TO HOLD SECOND ROUND OF PRESIDENTIAL VOTING TODAY
Parliament will held the second round of presidential balloting to elect
Turkey's next president today. Foreign Minister and ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) candidate Abdullah Gul is not expected to be
elected today, as the 367 votes needed are not thought to be there. He will
likely become the 11th president of the Republic of Turkey next Tuesday, in
the third round of voting, when 267 votes will be sufficient for him to
become the head of state. /Hurriyet/
[03] ERDOGAN URGES ISRAELI PRESIDENT NOT TO SUPPORT ARMENIAN ALLEGATIONS
In the wake of the decision by a prominent US Jewish group, the Anti-
Defamation League (ADL), to recognize the so-called Armenian genocide,
Turkey has called on Israel to work to convince similar groups not to
follow suit. In a telephone conversation yesterday, Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan reportedly urged Israeli President Shimon Peres to deal with
the issue at the highest level. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
conveyed Turkey’s disappointment and concern over the ADL’s decision to
Pinhas Avivi, Israel’s ambassador in Ankara. “It is a great
disappointment for us, who for centuries have given support to the Jews,”
Gul reportedly said. “This decision contradicts the main argument of Jews,
which says that the Holocaust was a singular evil. Our bilateral relations
will suffer from this decision.” /Turkiye/
[04] GEN. COMERT HANDS OVER AIR FORCES COMMAND TO GEN. BABAOGLU
Air Forces Commander Gen. Faruk Comert yesterday handed over his duties to
Gen. Aydogan Babaoglu. Addressing the command handover ceremony, which
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Parliament
Speaker Koksal Toptan and Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit
attended, Comert said that all of Turkey's problems would be solved when
people try to understand and tolerate each other rather than being
suspicious. Also speaking at the gathering, Babaoglu said that the Turkish
Armed Forces (TSK) would always closely follow all threats against the
republic, adding that they would proceed down the path laid out by Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey. /Milliyet/
[05] DSP'S SEZER: “WE WILL VOTE FOR OUR OWN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE”
Referring to main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz
Baykal’s call for opposition parties not to take part in the current
presidential vote in Parliament, Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Zeki
Sezer said yesterday that neither the DSP nor the CHP want Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul to become president, but they are following different methods
towards this end. After receiving a delegation from the Civil Servants'
Trade Union (Memur-Sen), Sezer said that after the Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP) decided to take part in the presidential election, which
provided the vote's necessary quorum, it became meaningless for the DSP to
sit out the process. He added that the DSP would vote for its own candidate
during the election. /Star/
[06] IRAQI VP AL-HASHEMI ARRIVES IN TURKEY
As part of Turkey’s efforts to help the solve government disputes between
Iraq's Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, Iraqi Kurdish President Jalal
Talabani’s Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi came to Ankara yesterday
on a plane sent by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Hashemi said that
his visit served to complement meetings held by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki in Turkey earlier this month. Hashemi participated in a working
dinner organized by Erdogan last night, and today he will meet with Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul. /Aksam/
[07] ISTANBUL FASHION FAIR BEGINS
The world’s third-largest garment industry fair, the 10th International
Istanbul Fashion Fair, opened its doors yesterday to potential buyers at
the CNR EXPO convention center. Speaking at the opening of the event, State
Minister Kursad Tuzmen said that they aimed to make Istanbul the center of
fashion. Around 30,000 visitors are expected to visit the fair, including
purchasing delegations from a host of countries. More than 300 firms are
participating in the event, which will end tomorrow. /Turkish Daily News/
[08] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[09] AKP’S CONCERNS FOR THE FUTURE
BY BILAL CETIN (VATAN)
Columnist Bilal Cetin comments on the current presidential election and
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s candidacy. A summary of his column is as
follows:
“Next Tuesday Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will take over the mantle
from Ahmet Necdet Sezer, becoming Turkey's 11th president. Obviously, this
will displease a good-size chunk of society, certain public institutions
and some opposition parties, mostly the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
But the AKP is very enthusiastic, even though it's taking care to keep
these high spirits under wraps. Everybody in this party is generally
pleased with how things are going. Most AKP members believe that when Gul
is elected president they will be the full, absolute ruling power, and that
everything will be much better in the months and years ahead both for
themselves and the country. But a few people think that this success might
actually damage the party. What’s more, these people aren’t ordinary
deputies or party members, but influential people within the party’s
decision-making mechanisms.
Before it was announced that Gul was running, when intra-party consultation
mechanisms were operating, some of these concerns were communicated to
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. These can be summed up like so:
‘There might be serious tensions with certain institutions and some parts
of society. We can’t ignore them. No matter if we want it or not, the
issue of the headscarf of Gul’s wife will be brought up. He and his
family will be upset and disturbed. In addition, problems and discussions
among public institutions might harm the government, and this situation
might have a negative impact on its performance.’
These views and ones like it were brought up in the Cabinet and before the
AKP’s Central Executive Board. Even during the meeting where the issue of
Gul running was discussed, some AKP members and deputies suggested that a
consensus should be reached with the opposition not over Gul, but some
other figure. Finally, Gul was decided on, and these views and suggestions
lost steam. The final decision was made, and now the AKP fully supports
this.
But some question marks and concerns have yet to be addressed. Although AKP
members have no doubt that Gul will be a very good president and
successfully discharge his duties, some of them still wonder whether this
situation will help the AKP or hurt it. It seems that all the stances taken
by Gul, from the headscarf issue to appointments, will become subjects of
discussion and debate. They know that for some time, concerns over
secularism will keep coming up, and all the decisions taken by the
government and president will be questioned. They also know that such an
atmosphere might have end up hurting the decisiveness of the government and
president. Meanwhile, Gul is very self-confident. He believes that even if
there might be certain doubts and tensions at the beginning, he can
overcome them and ensure harmony and cooperation among public institutions.
The era ahead will be an interesting one for Turkey.”
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