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Turkish Press Review, 08-04-17
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
17.04.2008
CONTENTS
[01] GUL INVITES POLITICAL PARTY LEADERS TO APRIL 23 CHILDREN'S DAY LUNCHEON
[02] BABACAN: "ARTICLE 301 WON'T BE ABOLISHED"
[03] AKP PACKAGES OF CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES READY
[04] IMPLEMENTATION OF SOCIAL SECURITY REFORMS PUSHED BACK TO OCTOBER
[05] TURKISH JETS HITS TERRORIST PKK TARGETS IN N.IRAQ
[06] EP'S RUIJTEN: "IF THE AKP IS CLOSED DOWN, TURKEY WILL PAY DEARLY"
[07] PACE TO ISSUE DECLARATION AGAINST PARTY CLOSURES
[08] HOLDING ONTO THE WEST
[01] GUL INVITES POLITICAL PARTY LEADERS TO APRIL 23 CHILDREN'S DAY
LUNCHEON
President Abdullah Gul is planning to invite the Parliament speaker, prime
minister, main opposition party leader, deputy Parliament speakers and
other parliamentary party leaders to a luncheon on next Wednesday, April 23,
National Sovereignty and Children's Day. In addition, Parliament Speaker
Koksal Toptan and his wife will host a reception in Parliament on the same
day. President Abdullah Gul will also attend the reception and watch
Parliament's special session that day, which will be led by children.
/Hurriyet/
[02] BABACAN: "ARTICLE 301 WON'T BE ABOLISHED"
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan yesterday met with his Maldivian counterpart
Abdallah Shaheed and signed a cooperative pact between the two countries.
Asked later by reporters how Turkey's domestic woes are affecting its
foreign policy, Babacan said, "Lately Turkey has gotten a lot of
international attention due to its domestic problems." Babacan also touched
upon proposed changes to Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK),
saying the government doesn't intend to do away with the controversial law,
and that Parliament will decide how to change it. For his part, Shaheed
said the people of the Maldives remain grateful for the support Turkey
extended after the disastrous 2004 South Asian tsunami. Stressing that
Turkey is a very important model for the Maldives, Shaheed said, "Certain
international developments have caused prejudices against Islam to rise,
and it is seen as a source of violence." He added that to eliminate those
prejudices, all Islamic countries must show the true face of Islam as a
religion of peace and understanding. In related news, Babacan told
Britain's Daily Telegraph that NATO shouldn't rely on military power alone
to defeat Taliban militants in Afghanistan, warning that doing so will
worsen the situation. Stressing the importance of winning the Afghan
people's hearts and minds, Babacan said, "If the people of that country
start to perceive the security forces as occupiers, it's going to be a very
complicated situation." /Star/
[03] AKP PACKAGES OF CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES READY
Top leaders from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have
prepared two separate draft constitutional packages to present for Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's approval. The drafts include a proposal to
make closing political parties more difficult as well as measures in areas
such as children's rights and gender equality. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] IMPLEMENTATION OF SOCIAL SECURITY REFORMS PUSHED BACK TO OCTOBER
Implementation of the government's social security reform package, which is
currently been debated by the full Parliament, has been pushed back to Oct.
1. The package aims to raise the retirement age and balance the social
security system's books, but it is encountering opposition from labor
unions. It was originally scheduled to take effect in June. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] TURKISH JETS HITS TERRORIST PKK TARGETS IN N.IRAQ
The General Staff yesterday announced that Turkish warplanes had hit an
area in northern Iraq where a group of PKK terrorists were trying to
infiltrate Turkey. "Warplanes attacked terrorists in the Avasin-Basyan
region of northern Iraq, near the Turkish border town of Cukurca," the
military said. /Sabah/
[06] EP'S RUIJTEN: "IF THE AKP IS CLOSED DOWN, TURKEY WILL PAY DEARLY"
Ria Oomen-Ruijten, Turkey rapporteur of the European Parliament, yesterday
met with visiting deputies from the ruling Justice and Development Party
(AKP), main opposition Republican People's Party, and Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP). "Turkey is falling behind in the Copenhagen Criteria," she
said. "If the AKP is shut down, negotiations with the European Union will
be suspended." Ruijten, who will prepare the progress report on Turkey this
June, signaled that if the AKP is closed, Turkey would pay a heavy price.
/Star/
[07] PACE TO ISSUE DECLARATION AGAINST PARTY CLOSURES
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is expected to
soon issue a declaration expressing its opposition to political party
closures. Speaking to NTV yesterday, PACE President Lluis Maria de Puig
said that a Turkish delegation had asked the assembly to issue the
declaration. But this statement caused friction within the Turkish
delegation currently in Strasbourg, made up of eight deputies from the
ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and two each from the main
opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party
(MHP). The opposition deputies stated that they had no part in seeking the
declaration, while the AKP deputies also denied any role in it. The AKP's
Mevlut Cavusoglu, who heads the delegation, said that the decision to issue
a declaration had already made before they arrived in Strasbourg, where
PACE is headquartered. /Hurriyet/
FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[08] HOLDING ONTO THE WEST
BY OKAY GONENSIN (VATAN)
Columnist Okay Gonensin comments on Turkey's relations with the West and
its own people. A summary of his column is as follows:
"There's a habit in Turkey. We can relate this to our complexes sometimes.
Anyone who's in trouble seeks the solution to his problem in the West. The
West sometimes means Europe, and sometimes the US. We used to think that
once we got the West's support, our problems would be easily solved. Now
there is the problem of Turkish Penal Code (TCK) Article 301. Actually, we
know that the 'pure' basis of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) isn't
so democratic. AKP spokesmen say that we're disgracing ourselves before the
West, instead of thinking of getting rid of this disgrace out of our own
will and political decision. It's an easy thing to say and it seems to be
an effective rationale, due to the implication that it has the support of
the great West.
For weeks AKP opponents have been saying that political parties are closed
in the West too, but they don't know how many parties are closed annually
or what the political conditions are. So we try to convince ourselves and
others by saying that political parties are also often closed in the West
and get an excuse and support for closing the AKP from the West. In the
latest such operation, some Turkish parliamentarians in the Council of
Europe went to the Council's head and asked for a declaration against
closure of the AKP. What will happen if such a declaration is issued? Will
some people who want it to be closed say, if the AKP is closed, Europe
would cause us trouble and so let's give it up?
If we can change Article 301 not for Europe's sake, but due to the Turkish
people's readiness for democracy; if we can discuss closing the AKP not in
relation to incidents in Europe, but by telling the truth openly based on
real evidence; and if we can explain seeking support from the West in terms
of democracy; then we will be able to get rid of our complexes over the
West. This would be an important mentality revolution and only through this
can we convince ourselves that we have a place in the developed world.”
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