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Turkish Press Review, 07-09-04
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
04.09.2007
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMN
CONTENTS
[01] PRESIDENT GUL RECEIVES PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
[02] ERDOGAN: “OUR DIFFERENCES ARE OUR RICHNESS”
[03] OPPOSITION PARTIES CRITICIZE GOVERNMENT PROGRAM
[04] PRELIMINARY WORK ON NEW CONSTITUTION COMPLETED
[05] AUGUST INFLATION FIGURES RELEASED
[06] TURKEY’S NEW IMAGE
[01] PRESIDENT GUL RECEIVES PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
President Abdullah Gul yesterday received Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan
as his first official guest. Gul also received Ankara Chamber of Industry
(ASO) Chairman Nurettin Ozdebir, Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Justice
Osman Arslan, All-Worker Pensioners’ Society head Satilmis Caliskan, and
Ramazan Ozunal, head of the Turkish Muhktars Federation, a group of local
neighborhood administrators. /Star/
[02] ERDOGAN: “OUR DIFFERENCES ARE OUR RICHNESS”
In Parliament yesterday responding to criticisms made by opposition parties
during debate over the 60th government program, Prime Minister Recep Tayip
Erdogan said that Turkey’s differences were also its richness. He said
that certain deputies in Parliament still avoided declaring the PKK a
terrorist group even though both the US and the European Union had done so.
Stressing that Parliament would fight for the nation’s common values,
Erdogan said his party defends four pillars: one nation, one flag, one land
and one state. He added that Turkey is a democratic, secular and social
state under the rule of law and they this was beyond dispute. The premier
stated that his government was opposed to ethnic, regional and religious
nationalism, adding that over the last four years under their first
government they had invested much in Turkey’s southeastern region. The
premier also urged the opposition parties to offer constructive criticism
of the government to help further the country’s development. /Turkiye/
[03] OPPOSITION PARTIES CRITICIZE GOVERNMENT PROGRAM
During debate over the new government’s program yesterday in Parliament,
opposition parties offered their criticisms. “We were expecting a more
extensive program but we were greeted by compliments for past actions,”
said main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy leader Kemal
Kilicdaroglu. Opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet
Bahceli said, “Efforts to define ethnic identities as national minorities
and provide constitutional safeguards by giving political and legal status
to such ethnic characteristics are attempts to destroy Turkey’s national
unity and establish a new nation to replace the Turkish nation.” Bahceli
also claimed that the program didn’t take a determined stance against
domestic and foreign terrorist threats. Democratic Society Party (DTP)
leader Ahmet Turk also took the floor to voice his party’s views of the
program. At a press conference yesterday alongside fellow party deputies
before the debate, opposition Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Zeki Sezer
alluded to the program’s references to a “constitution of civil
compromise” and “broad social consensus,” saying, “We find this a
positive approach. However, we hope the prime minister will not mix
compromise with imposition, as he did until recently. We have concerns; we
are warning them not to make attempts to alter the system.” /Aksam-
Cumhuriyet/
[04] PRELIMINARY WORK ON NEW CONSTITUTION COMPLETED
A group of academics has completed drafting Turkey’s new constitution as
pledged by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) before July’s
general elections. “The second round of talks (over the new constitution)
will be held with the participation of the AKP’s political team and
should conclude next week,” Mir Mehmet Firat, deputy leader of the AKP,
told a press conference yesterday. He said that after this second round, a
draft constitution would be ready to be unveiled to the general public,
universities, political parties, media and non-governmental organizations
for further discussion and contributions. Stating that the new constitution
would be discussed for more than three months and the commission would
listen to all different views, Firat said the government would present the
text to Parliament early next year, adding that through a referendum, the
constitution passed by Parliament would be submitted for public approval.
/Turkish Daily News/
[05] AUGUST INFLATION FIGURES RELEASED
The Turkish Board of Statistics (TUIK) yesterday released inflation figures
for August. Annual inflation on the consumer price index (CPI) was 7.39
percent, and 3.72 percent on the producer price index (PPI). On a monthly
basis, CPI rose by 0.02 percent in August, while PPI rose by 0.85 percent.
/Milliyet/
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMN
[06] TURKEY’S NEW IMAGE
BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Sami Kohen comments on how countries see Turkey anew following
its recent general and presidential elections. A summary of his column is
as follows:
“Is there a visible change in Turkey’s image abroad after our recent
general and presidential elections? The answer is yes. Then what has
changed or what’s the direction of this change? Most analyses of Turkey
characterized the elections as a confrontation between Islamism and
secularism, saying that the former had triumphed over the latter. I have
already called this way of looking at things superficial and hyperbolic.
Later, studies conducted by academics and researchers argued that religion
wasn’t the most important factor in these elections, but that that social
and economic issues played a much stronger role. Former Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul being the top candidate for president made the same circles
think that his election was also an outcome of the battle between Islamism
and secularism. This time, however, the comments were even more hyperbolic,
and Gul’s elevation was seen as the end of secularism and even a counter-
revolution.
Although the main deciding factor in the elections was neither religion nor
secularism, the outcome highlighted these, and a new image of Turkey has
emerged. The first element of this new image is the new first lady wearing
a headscarf " in fact, this is the sole different thing in this new
image. But the foreign media continue to publish comments saying that
Turkey has entered a new era in which Islamic ideas have grown stronger and
secularism has lost ground. Of course some analysts do better evaluations,
but the general thought is that this is the direction Turkey is moving in.
How will such an image affect Turkey’s foreign relations and place in the
world? According to Huge Pope, an author of books on Turkey currently
working for the International Crisis Group’s (ICG) Turkey Desk, there are
still some people in the West who misread the outcomes of the recent
elections. As a matter of fact, discussions of secularism and Islam in
Turkey are leading foreigners to get such false impressions. And some
prejudices about Islam in Europe give an opportunity to people looking for
any excuse to use against Turkey. Actually, an image of Turkey gradually
moving away from secularism towards Islamic rule will be more negative for
Europe.
The situation is different when it comes to relations between states or the
policies of the government. The reelection of the Justice and Development
Party (AKP) and Abdullah Gul being elected president aren’t expected to
have a negative impact. On the contrary, clues and official statements from
Brussels and other EU capitals show that now we can accelerate our
negotiations with the EU, and that they rely on the AKP and President Gul
in this respect. New images such as a new first lady wearing a headscarf
don’t interest or disturb them. More frankly, EU officials don’t see
Turkey as a country becoming Islamic where secularism is being destroyed.
This is also true of a number of countries including the US, as far as I
know. What is important for Washington is Turkey’s being ruled by a
government which works in tune with the West, doesn’t make a mess in
relations and continues democracy and stability in the country. In this
respect, the US has given credit to the new government and president. As
for the Islamic world, as we can tell from published comments and analyses,
they see Turkey’s new image as a good one.”
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