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Turkish Press Review, 07-11-01
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
01.11.2007
CONTENTS
[01] FORMER DEPUTY PM INONU PASSES AWAY
[02] ERDOGAN: “NO ONE CAN DISTURB TURKEY’S PEACE”
[03] TOP GENERALS TO ACCOMPANY ERDOGAN ON WASHINGTON VISIT
[04] CICEK PLEDGES ANTI-PKK MEASURES WILL NOT HARM INNOCENTS
[05] US’ RICE TO VISIT ANKARA
[06] PENTAGON: “WE SHARE INTELLIGENCE ON THE TERRORIST PKK WITH TURKEY”
[07] ISTANBUL TO HOST WEEKEND MEETING ON IRAQ
[08] IRAQI PM SEEKS HELP FROM TEHRAN TO DEFUSE CRISIS
[09] MOSCOW URGES TURKISH CALM OVER PKK TERRORIST ISSUE
[10] INVALUABLE INONU
[01] FORMER DEPUTY PM INONU PASSES AWAY
Erdal Inonu, former deputy prime minister and former leader of the
Socialist People’s Party (SHP), yesterday passed away in Houston, Texas.
Inonu, son of Ismet Inonu, the Turkish Republic’s second president, died
at age 81 at a hospital where he was receiving treatment for leukemia. Born
in 1926 in Ankara, Inonu was both a physicist and politician. Leader of the
Social Democratic People’s Party in 1983-1993, he served as deputy prime
minister in 1991-1993 and foreign minister for six months in 1995. /All
papers/
[02] ERDOGAN: “NO ONE CAN DISTURB TURKEY’S PEACE”
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that Turkey will do
whatever is needed to counter attacks on the nation’s peace, security and
unity. Speaking at a meeting organized by the Union of Turkish Exporters
(TIM) in Ankara, accompanied by State Minister Kursad Tuzmen and Finance
Minister Kemal Unakitan, Erdogan said that Turkey’s exports this year
have exceeded $100 billion and that officials are determined to reach the
nation’s foreign trade targets. /Turkiye/
[03] TOP GENERALS TO ACCOMPANY ERDOGAN ON WASHINGTON VISIT
During Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Washington to begin
on Saturday, in addition to Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and Defense
Minister Vecdi Gonul, the premier will be accompanied by Deputy Chief of
General Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun and Maj. Gen. Kenan Kocak. The premier
reportedly included the two top military officials in his delegation to
show Ankara’s resolve on the option of a military incursion into northern
Iraq. In related news, after completing his contacts in the US, Erdogan is
scheduled to travel to Italy for an official visit. /Sabah/
[04] CICEK PLEDGES ANTI-PKK MEASURES WILL NOT HARM INNOCENTS
The Cabinet ministers, chaired by Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, convened
yesterday to discuss possible economic sanctions on northern Iraq and
supporters of the PKK. Speaking to reporters after the six-hour meeting,
Deputy Premier Cemil Cicek said the government had decided to take measures
which would hurt neither the Turkish nor the Iraqi peoples. He stated that
military, political, diplomatic and economic measures would be taken, but
offered no details. “These measures will target only PKK terrorists and
their supporters,” stressed Cicek. /Milliyet/
[05] US’ RICE TO VISIT ANKARA
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit Ankara tomorrow. Rice
will be received by President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and is expected to meet with her Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan.
She will also proceed to Istanbul on Friday to attend a meeting of Iraq’s
neighbors and other relevant parties. /Hurriyet/
[06] PENTAGON: “WE SHARE INTELLIGENCE ON THE TERRORIST PKK WITH TURKEY”
The US Defense Department said yesterday that it shares intelligence on PKK
terrorists in northern Iraq with Turkish officials. Speaking to reporters,
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell pointed to the importance of intelligence
in combat situations. He said they have helped Turks get information about
the terrorists, adding that such activities have recently increased. In
addition, the US has reportedly sent a number of U-2 spy planes to the
Turkish-Iraqi border to get more information about the activities of the
terrorists. /Sabah/
[07] ISTANBUL TO HOST WEEKEND MEETING ON IRAQ
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani will not participate in Friday and
Saturday’s meeting in Istanbul of the foreign ministers of countries
neighboring Iraq. Instead, representing Baghdad will be Iraqi Prime
Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. Speaking
before coming to Turkey, Zebari stated that intensive efforts were
continuing to find eight Turkish soldiers lost and claimed captured by the
PKK last month. “The meeting in Istanbul should focus on Iraq’s
security and stability, and shouldn’t be influenced by the tension on the
Turkish-Iraqi border or the terrorist PKK’s activities,” he said.
/Aksam/
[08] IRAQI PM SEEKS HELP FROM TEHRAN TO DEFUSE CRISIS
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki yesterday asked Iran to help solve his
country’s crisis with Turkey. In a statement coinciding with the visit of
his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki to Baghdad, Tehran was asked to
step in to solve the problem at the Turkish-Iraqi border. Maliki also asked
Iran to support the meeting of countries neighboring Iraq set to start in
Istanbul tomorrow. /Aksam/
[09] MOSCOW URGES TURKISH CALM OVER PKK TERRORIST ISSUE
Russia yesterday called on Turkey to act calmly regarding a possible
military incursion into northern Iraq to chase down PKK terrorists. Kremlin
deputy spokesman Dmitry Peskov said yesterday that they understood
Turkey’s unease and concern over terrorist PKK attacks on its people.
However, he urged Ankara not to take steps in haste, adding that a misstep
could worsen the situation and make it spiral out of control. /Turkiye/
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[10] INVALUABLE INONU
BY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)
Columnist Oktay Eksi comments on the death of statesman and scientist Erdal
Inonu. A summary of his column is as follows:
“Turkish political life has lost a real lover of democracy, science has
lost an important physicist, and the Turkish nation has lost one of its
most modest, tolerant and mature sons. Erdal Inonu, the son of Turkey’s
second President Ismet Inonu, died yesterday at the age of 81. I first met
him back in 1957, but only got the chance to know him better after he
helped found the Social Democracy Party (SODEP) in 1983. For a short period
of time when he was party leader, I served as deputy secretary general.
Erdal Inonu was a person of deep maturity. He knew how to act like the son
of a national hero, a president, how to carry the position of a well-known
scientist and first-class intellectual, and how to be an exceptionally
modern, moderate figure with a unique sense of humor. There were times when
I disagreed with certain of his political decisions, but he had nothing but
good intentions behind them, as he believed a mass social democratic
movement would ensure a bright future for Turkey, and he had no other
dreams or ambitions. Unfortunately, inter-party squabbling exhausted him,
and so he left active politics. He decided to read, write and be with his
students and thus completed his life calmly, which better suited his
personality.
One of the most important characteristics of Inonu, in the words of
journalist Altan Oymen, was that he never stopped ‘being like himself.’
He never tried to ape the people he admired, including his father. He was
the same person in every environment. I would like to end this column with
the words of Ozden Toker, his surviving only child: ‘Erdal Inonu always
enjoyed being an Inonu. He always worked for a modern Turkey. He never fell
apart. He never questioned Turkey’s situation. He always believed that
Turkey would get better. He was a very good person … He was a Kemalist.
He was a son of the secular republic. He lived his life believing all of
this.”
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