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Turkish Press Review, 07-08-29Turkish 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 morning29.08.2007FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS …CONTENTS
[01] ABDULLAH GUL BECOMES TURKEY’S NEW PRESIDENTThe presidential election process finally concluded yesterday with the election, as expected, of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, the nominee of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Gul was elected in the third round of voting after receiving 339 votes out of 448 cast. The Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) nominee, Sabahattin Cakmakoglu, received 70 votes, while Democratic Left Party (DSP) candidate Tayfun Icli got 13. Twenty-four deputies cast blank ballots, while two votes were found invalid. As it had announced previously, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was not present in Parliament for this round or any round of voting. /Milliyet/[02] GUL TAKES HIS OATH OF OFFICE IN PARLIAMENT, VISITS ATATURK’S MAUSOLEUMAfter being elected president yesterday, former Foreign Minister Abdulllah Gul was sworn into office in Parliament and delivered a speech of gratitude. In his speech, stating that the Turkish Republic is a democratic, secular and social state ruled by law, Gul said, “These qualities stipulated by the unalterable articles of our Constitution are inseparable, and each is undoubtedly a core principle of our republic. I will always be determined and resolved to advocate, without discrimination, each of these principles and to strengthen them further at every opportunity.” He added, “In democracy, which is a system of rights and liberties, secularism, one of the core principles of our republic, is as much a model that underpins freedom for different lifestyles as it is a rule of social harmony. I will continue my path, in a transparent and fully impartial manner, including all our citizens." Gul stressed that it was a must for Turkey to more resolutely carry out the political and economic reforms needed for EU membership and also praised the military as a necessary deterrent and a symbol of independence. However, generals were notable for their absence from Gul’s swearing-in ceremony. Then Gul visited Anitkabir, Ataturk’s mausoleum, laid a wreath at Ataturk’s tomb, and signed the mausoleum’s commemorative guestbook. Finally, Gul gave his first reception as the 11th president of Turkey at the Cankaya Presidential Palace, in an occasion attended by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan, and some deputies and Cabinet members. The reception was closed to the press and lasted for nearly 25 minutes. /Aksam, Sabah/[03] SEZER BIDS FAREWELL TO PRESIDENCY WITH VISIT TO ANITKABIRAhmet Necdet Sezer, Turkey’s outgoing 10th president, yesterday visited Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Republic of Turkey founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, before handing over the country’s top post to his successor Abdullah Gul. Signing the mausoleum’s commemorative guestbook, Sezer wrote that the Republic of Turkey would decisively continue to follow the path set out by Ataturk’s enlightened principles. He added that he was glad to complete his term in office while staying loyal to the basic principles of the republic, his oath, and the Constitution. /Cumhuriyet/[04] ERDOGAN TO PRESENT NEW CABINET TO PRESIDENT GUL TODAYPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to present his new Cabinet list to President Abdullah Gul this afternoon for his approval. /Turkiye/[05] GUL TO ATTEND GATA COMMENCEMENT TODAYPresident Abdullah Gul will attend a graduation ceremony at the Gulhane Military Medical Academy (GATA) today. Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan and Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also be present at the gathering. /Hurriyet/[06] WORLD LEADERS HAIL GUL’S PRESIDENCYWorld leaders yesterday issued congratulatory messages after the election of Abdullah Gul as Turkey’s new president. German President Horst Koehler, German Premier Angela Merkel, Italian Premier Romano Prodi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Greek Premier Costas Karamanlis and Pakistani President Mervez Musherref all sent messages to Gul, while US President George W. Bush and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev personally called Gul to hail his election. In addition, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso expressed his hope that Gul’s presidency would lead to further economic and political reforms needed for the country to move closer to the European Union. /Milliyet/[07] ADL MAINTAINS ITS STANCE ON THE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDEAbraham Foxman, the head of US Jewish group the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), yesterday continued his claims that incidents of World War I concerning Armenians could be called a “genocide.” In a guest column written for the Boston Jewish Advocate and posted on the ADL’s webpage yesterday, Foxman wrote, “While we continue to firmly believe that a Congressional resolution on such matters is a counterproductive diversion and will not foster reconciliation between Turks and Armenians, we will not hesitate to apply the term genocide in the future.” Foxman added, “We have been in close contact with the Turkish Jewish community for decades. We have heard repeatedly from its leaders how concerned they are about the impact of American Jewish involvements in efforts to label as genocide Turkish actions against Armenians during World War I … For us, as a Jewish defense organization, such concern can not go unheeded. Still, we had a dilemma. As an organization committed to educating people on the dangers not only of anti-Semitism but of hatred of all kinds, we could not ignore the terrible tragedy that befell at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. And we have not. In meetings with high-level Turkish officials, we have pressed them to come to grips with the past and speak to what happened. We have done that again and again and we will continue to do so." /Sabah/[08] TURKISH, CHINESE FIRMS SIGN EXPORT AGREEMENTA Chinese public and private sector delegation led by Deputy Trade Minister Xiuhong Ma held meetings with Turkish firms at the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) yesterday. After the meetings, 14 Turkish firms signed an export agreement totaling $210 million with Chinese firms. The pacts cover wool, copper, chrome, lead and polyacrylonitril fibers. Speaking at the TIM, Xiuhong Ma said that imports from Turkey to China during the first seven months of this year had risen 80% and that this year for the first time these imports would exceed $1 billion. /Star/FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … [09] BEST REGARDS TO SEZERBY M. ALI KISLALI (RADIKAL)M. Ali Kislali writes on the record of Ahmet Necdet Sezer, whose term as president concluded yesterday. “I can’t remember the presidency of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk or Ismet Inonu, the first two presidents of the Republic of Turkey. As a journalist, I witnessed most of third President Celal Bayar’s term. I met fourth President Cemal Gursel when he was still the Land Forces commander. I watched Cevdet Sunay both as the chief of General Staff and later the fifth president. I also had the chance to interview him. I watched sixth President Korutürk from a distance. I met Kenan Evren closely as both the chief of General Staff and the seventh president and interviewed him. I experienced the same during the terms in office of Turgut Özal and Suleyman Demirel, the eight and ninth presidents. I can neither lambaste them nor sing their praises. But I think I can heap onto Ahmet Necdet Sezer the highest praise of my career. Sezer was a president who set a good example for us, one unlike what we had seen before. Using his Kemalist approach, he tried to block the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, which he feared would impose its program based on Islamist national opinion. He gave confidence and courage to both people and the constitutional institutions by forming close ties of solidarity with them. He never closed the door of Cankaya to people from these institutions. He never tried to win praise with popularist approaches. He didn’t make use of the privileges and opportunities of his post, unlike some of his predecessors. Those who couldn’t stomach him told how he reimbursed Cankaya for the electricity used during his son’s wedding ceremony and also sent one of his family members for a haircut in a civilian car. They found it strange that he didn’t run red lights. What affected me the most about him was that based on his profound knowledge of and belief in law, he didn’t hesitate to use all his powers to block proposed AKP laws and appointments he found conflicted with the core values of the constitutional regime. With these acts, he not only safeguarded the legal balances of the country but also served the AKP by preventing its government from going too far. His Kemalist legal approach always made me say, ‘Thank God Sezer is there!’ When he repeated such approaches his predecessors had not adopted, I also thought that we would miss Sezer very much. Now as a new president has assumed the office, I wonder what kind of a shape the order which has taken part in the protection of the constitutional regime and which we have been accustomed to for seven years will take. I hope Sezer will write about the efforts he took to protect the basic principles of the republic founded by Ataturk with the inner peace of a person who has done his job properly. And I hope the republic shaped according to a proposed new Constitution won’t experience a disturbing transformation in new hands lacking Sezer’s qualities. I hope we won’t feel his absence too acutely in the days to come, and I extend my best wishes to him.” The Turkish Press Review will not appear on August 30, due to Victory Day. Please join us on August 31, Friday. Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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