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Turkish Press Review, 01-12-12
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
12.12.2001
CONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT REQUESTS TIMETABLE FROM EU
[02] SEZER CRITICIZES THE GOVERNMENT
[03] TURKEY TO JOIN, THEN LEAD AFGHAN PEACEKEEPING FORCE
[04] DOSTUM: "WE ARE WAITING FOR TURKISH TROOPS"
[05] ECEVIT AND CEM TALK ESPD, LAEKEN SUMMIT
[06] DENKTAS: "EU TROOPS CANNOT ENTER THE TRNC"
[07] GREECE, TURKEY WRANGLE OVER ESDP ACCORD
[08] OZILHAN: "FOLLOWING CYPRUS PROGRESS, LET'S MOVE ON EU ACCESSION"
[09] GUREL RETURNS FROM OIC MEETING
[10] ARSEVEN ATTENDS MEETING ON REFUGEE ACCORD
[11] UN ANTI-TERRORISM CONVENTION OPENED FOR SIGNATURE
[12] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE DEFENSE MINISTERS MEETING SLATED FOR ANTALYA
[13] TURKEY WARNS BELGIUM NOT TO PERMIT PKK MEETING
[14] EP APPROVES TURKEY'S PARTICIPATION IN EU PROGRAMS
[15] DERVIS COURTS SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION PARTIES
[16] DERVIS: "WE WILL WORK TO LOWER INFLATION"
[17] KIEKENS: "GOVERNMENT MOVES ARE SPURRING TURNAROUND"
[18] YAPI KREDI BEGINS TO WORK WITH WATSON WYATT
[19] HURRIYET RECEIVES GERMAN FRIENDSHIP AWARD
[20] TPAO TO EXPLORE PETROLEUM IN NORTHERN IRAQ
[21] TURKISH FIREMEN PRESENT HELMET TO NEW YORK FIREMEN
[22] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[23] FOREIGN PROBLEMS AND TURKEY BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
[24] ESDP DEADLOCK BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
[01] ECEVIT REQUESTS TIMETABLE FROM EU
In leading to the Laeken Summit to begin in Brussels
on
Friday, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is signaling that he wants to EU to
give Turkey a timetable so that it can map out its immediate steps towards
EU membership. Talking to Turkish daily Sabah yesterday, Ecevit stated,
"Turkey has worked seriously and taken a number of steps that were
appreciated by the EU." Ecevit said that he wanted these improving
Turkish-EU relations to continue with a timetable that would meet Turkey's
expectations. Turkey has previously declared that it wanted to be a EU
member by the year 2004. /Sabah/
[02] SEZER CRITICIZES THE GOVERNMENT
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday criticized the
government during a reception of workers' representatives. A delegation
headed by Turkish Confederation of Labor Unions (TURK-IS) Chairman Bayram
Meral visited the president to express their complaints concerning the
recently issued retirement directive. After listening to Meral, Sezer
reportedly said that if the government is unable to solve such vital
issues as unemployment and transparency in regulations and procedures
then, Turkey would not gain EU membership. Sezer also remarked that money
siphoned from Turkey's banks was a major cause of its economic woes.
Speaking on legislative matters, Sezer said that the Elections and
Political Parties Law should be amended as soon as possible. He also
signaled that he would approve the State Security Courts (DGM) Law because
he had no other choice. /Milliyet/
[03] TURKEY TO JOIN, THEN LEAD AFGHAN PEACEKEEPING FORCE
Prominent US daily The Washington Post said in an
article
yesterday that Britain would lead an international peacekeeping force to
be sent to Afghanistan to safeguard the new interim government and that
Turkey was expected to take over the force's leadership before summer. A
UN diplomat told the paper that Britain would contribute 2-3,000 troops to
the force. Besides Turkey, Germany, France, Canada, Italy, Bangladesh and
Jordan have expressed interest in participating in the peacekeeping force,
but the US will not take part. The article also said that Britain was
planning to summon representatives from the prospective peacekeepers to
London in the near future. /Turkiye/
[04] DOSTUM: "WE ARE WAITING FOR TURKISH TROOPS"
Northern Alliance Commander Gen. Rasit Dostum visited
the
front in Belh, Afghanistan to lift the morale of his soldiers. During his
tour of the front, Dostum told Ihlas News Agency (IHA) he wants Turkish
troops to arrive in Afghanistan. He also wants Turkish troops to train his
forces. Dostum stressed his opposition to terrorism and reiterated his
support for the fight against terrorism. /Turkiye/
[05] ECEVIT AND CEM TALK ESPD, LAEKEN SUMMIT
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit met with Foreign Minister
Ismail Cem yesterday. During the meeting, Greek's threatened veto of the
recently reached deal on the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP)
was discussed and Cem briefed Ecevit on the upcoming Laeken Summit, which
the premier is expected to attend on Dec. 14-15. /Turkiye/
[06] DENKTAS: "EU TROOPS CANNOT ENTER THE TRNC"
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President
Rauf
Denktas said yesterday "Even if Cyprus became an EU member, the EU's
military force should not enter Cyprus." Stressing that no military
forces should be deployed in Cyprus other than Turkish and Greek troops
for the security of their respective nations, and for a limited time only,
the UN Peacekeeping Force. Denktas said that the Island should not be
armed and turned into a war zone. Denktas traveled to Istanbul last night
to attend a conference at Istanbul University today. /Turkiye/
[07] GREECE, TURKEY WRANGLE OVER ESDP ACCORD
Greece is signaling that it will not accept the deal
worked
out between Turkey, the US and Britain over the European Security and
Defense Policy (ESDP). Government spokesmen Hristos Protopappas and
Foreign Ministry spokesman Panos Beglidis both said yesterday that Greece
found the accord unsatisfactory. On the other hand, Turkish authorities
are saying that they would not take Greece's rejection seriously. The
accord states that Turkey will not retreat from the decisions contained
therein. If the European Union takes a step back due to Greek pressure
then Turkey will restart the negotiation process, say Turkish authorities.
/Hürriyet/
[08] OZILHAN: "FOLLOWING CYPRUS PROGRESS, LET'S MOVE ON EU ACCESSION"
Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's Association
(TUSIAD) Chairman Tuncay Ozilhan said yesterday that he was pleased that a
process of dialogue had begun in Cyprus and that he hoped now Turkey's EU
accession could now move forward. Speaking to the Reuters News Agency,
Ozilhan said that the Cyprus problem should be solved as soon as possible
but also in a way so as not to damage Turkey's prospective EU membership
and the EU's enlargement process. He also warned that rumors of war and
conspiracy theories only made finding a solution for Cyprus even harder.
Ozilhan added, "I congratulate the government and the Turkish
Parliament for their efforts to solve the country's economic problems. Now
it is time to move towards EU accession." /Sabah/
[09] GUREL RETURNS FROM OIC MEETING
State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel returned to Turkey
yesterday after attending the recent Doha meeting of the Organization for
the Islamic Conference (OIC). Remarking that there was still hope for
peace in the Middle East despite all the recent negative developments,
Gurel asserted that no solution would be possible without establishing a
sound dialogue between Israel and Palestinians. "The OIC's
declaration expressed the concerns of the member states over Israel's
military operations against the Palestinians," said Gurel. "In
Doha, we voiced Turkey's concerns about the Middle East peace process. The
OIC members know well how Turkey views the issue and how much importance
it places on establishing peace in the region." /Cumhuriyet/
[10] ARSEVEN ATTENDS MEETING ON REFUGEE ACCORD
State Minister Nejat Arseven flew to Switzerland
yesterday
to attend an international meeting convened to gather states which are
parties to a 1967 protocol of the "1953 Agreement on the Status of
Refugees." Arseven stated that he would represent Turkey at the
meeting, which is considered a part of the celebrations to be held in
honor of the 50th anniversary of the protocol. /Cumhuriyet/
[11] UN ANTI-TERRORISM CONVENTION OPENED FOR SIGNATURE
A bill to bring Turkey's national laws in line with
the
UN's International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of
Terrorism was opened for signature at the Turkish Council of Ministers
meeting. The bill defines what an act of terrorism is and establishes the
act of financing terrorism as a separate crime. The bill also proposes
identifying, detecting and freezing or seizing any funds used or allocated
for the purpose of committing a terrorist act. In light of the ease with
which front businesses are often used to launder dirty money and to
transfer funds, the bill calls on the state to take all practicable
measures against any unusual or suspicious financial transactions. Under
the bill, seized financial resources will be recorded as revenues to the
Treasury. /Cumhuriyet/
[12] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE DEFENSE MINISTERS MEETING SLATED FOR ANTALYA
The annual meeting of the defense ministers of
southeastern
European countries is to be held in Antalya next week. Turkish Defense
Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu will host the meeting which is to take
place on Dec. 19-20. Among the countries scheduled to attend the meetings
are the United States, Albania, Italy, Macedonia, Romania, Greece, Ukraine
and Slovenia. /Cumhuriyet/
[13] TURKEY WARNS BELGIUM NOT TO PERMIT PKK MEETING
Turkey has warned the Belgium government that it
should not
permit the PKK terrorist organization to convene a so-called Kurdistan
National Congress on Dec. 15-17. Among the issues to be allegedly
discussed at the so-called congress are "establishing a national army
for the Kurdish state and facilitating all Kurdish forces to act with
coordination." Turkey has already given the message to Belgium that
if it did not cancel the meeting, relations between the two countries
would be seriously damaged. /Cumhuriyet/
[14] EP APPROVES TURKEY'S PARTICIPATION IN EU PROGRAMS
At its latest plenary session, the European Parliament
(EP)
has approved a European Union Council bill proposing Turkey's
participation in a number of European Union programs. Under a previous
agreement between the EU and Turkey, the EU is expected to allocate 375
million euros for Turkey over the next five years. /Cumhuriyet/
[15] DERVIS COURTS SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION PARTIES
State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis today
begins a
series of meetings with the leaders of the opposition leaders to drum up
support for a number of laws. Today Dervis will meet with Justice and
Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Felicity Party
(SP) leader Recai Kutan. He is also expected to meet with True Path Party
(DYP) leader Tansu Ciller tomorrow. Dervis reportedly will brief the
leaders on recent developments in the economy and ask for their support
for the new Bidding and Tobacco Bills. /Turkiye/
[16] DERVIS: "WE WILL WORK TO LOWER INFLATION"
At a conference in Israel yesterday, State Minister
for the
Economy Kemal Dervis said when Turkey's monthly economic data is
translated into yearly figures, it turns out that the rate of inflation is
newly 50%. "Although it will be very difficult, we will work very
hard to decrease inflation to 35%," he declared. /Milliyet/
[17] KIEKENS: "GOVERNMENT MOVES ARE SPURRING TURNAROUND"
International Monetary Fund Executive Director Willy
Kiekens began his contacts in Turkey yesterday. Kiekens met with Rifat
Hisarciklioglu, head of the business group of the Turkish Union of
Chambers and Commodities Exchange (TOBB). After the meeting Kiekens stated
that the two had talked about measures to save Turkish companies. "We
discussed reforms to the tax system and also improving the government's
handling of expenditures, and how Turkey could improve and increase the
foreign direct investment that it needs," Kiekens said. "I told
the chairman of the union that thanks to the government's good policy
moves, we're now seeing the first signs of a turnaround in the
economy." /Hürriyet/
[18] YAPI KREDI BEGINS TO WORK WITH WATSON WYATT
Yapi Kredi Life Insurance has begun to work with
consultants from the Watson Wyatt company in order to better implement its
personal retirement project, Yapi Kredi announced yesterday. Britain-based
Watson Wyatt has 84 branches in over 30 countries and is one of the
world's leading companies in the fields of insurance, finance, human
resources, investment and retirement. Reportedly, the company is pursuing
similar initiatives in central and southern European countries. /Sabah/
[19] HURRIYET RECEIVES GERMAN FRIENDSHIP AWARD
The Turco-German Friendship Association handed out a
number
of awards yesterday to various people and institutions, including Turkish
daily Hurriyet for its contributions to Turkish and German culture.
Hurriyet Foreign Publications Director Nejat Secen received the award on
behalf of the newspaper. The awards were given out in honor of the
association's 50th anniversary and the 40th anniversary Turkish workers
being sent to Germany on a Maritime Lines' Ankara passenger ship.
/Hurriyet/
[20] TPAO TO EXPLORE PETROLEUM IN NORTHERN IRAQ
The Turkish Petroleum Joint Stock Company (TPAO) is
set to
begin exploring petroleum in northern Iraq, the company announced
yesterday. The TPAO is planning to drill 10 oil wells in the region. The
expert retired personnel have been summoned to meet the demand for labor
necessary for the task. /Cumhuriyet/
[21] TURKISH FIREMEN PRESENT HELMET TO NEW YORK FIREMEN
The victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were
commemorated worldwide yesterday, exactly three months after the tragic
events. For the occasion Turkish firemen honored their New York brethren,
more than 100 of whom died while trying to rescue people at the Twin
Towers. The Ankara Fire-Brigade Directorate is bequeathing a helmet to the
New York City Fire Department as a present. The helmet, which was unveiled
at a commemoration ceremony at the US Embassy in Ankara, will be sent to
New York. The ceremony was attended by Parliament Deputy Speaker Murat
Sokmenoglu, Culture Minister Istemihan Talay, Foreign Ministry
Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal, Presidential Administrative Director and Chief
Advisor for Foreign Affairs Tacan Ildem and Maj. Gen. Hasan Igsiz on
behalf of Chief of the General Staff Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu. /Hurriyet/
[22] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[23] FOREIGN PROBLEMS AND TURKEY BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna writes on recent developments
concerning Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows: "Greece has
put reservations on the guarantees the US and Britain gave to Turkey for
the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). It is no secret that the
Netherlands shares the same view as its Atlantic Alliance. However the
guarantee has to be approved by Germany, France, Italy, Spain and other EU
member states. We are waiting for the decision which will be made in
Brussels. The resumption of talks between Denktas and Clerides in Cyprus
will facilitate the approval of the US-Britain guarantee. However, the
Greek-Cypriot side is so much spoilt and Greece is abusing its EU
membership to such a great extent that reaching an immediate framework for
a solution is not expected. There is bloodshed all over Palestine.
Ministers of the Organization for Islamic Conference (OIC), met in Qatar.
Arafat was unable to attend the meeting. However, proclamations of
denouncement don't solve anything. It should not be expected that the OIC,
which could not apply any pressure to speak of in Cyprus and Bosnia, would
be successful in achieving a truce in Palestine. A US diplomat is in
northern Iraq accompanied by his advisors. He is trying to mediate between
Barzani and Talabani. The trend in Washington towards waging war against
Iraq is getting stronger. Now that Mullah Omar and bin Laden have been
defeated, the US will accuse Saddam as the main supporter of terrorism. If
Saddam, accepts Ecevit's suggestion to admit UN inspectors to investigate
allegations of nuclear and biological weapons, the tensions will decrease
and even tie the hands of the US in the international arena. However,
dictators by nature are not ready to accept reasonable solutions. Adding
Afghanistan to all these problems, Turkey has many problems to deal with.
In foreign policy, our relations with the Turkic-speaking countries are
important and should be regarded in the long term. However, in determining
Turkey's future and guaranteeing all its borders, its relations with the
EU have priority. Therefore, we have no other choice but to carry out
state reform."
[24] ESDP DEADLOCK BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Sami Kohen comments on recent developments
regarding the European Security and Defense Policy. A summary of his
column is as follows: "Now that Turkey is relieved, Greece and the EU
have been left in a fix. The fierce discussions which have been going on
for months over the EU's rapid reaction force project has reached this
point today. At first the disagreement was believed to be between Turkey
and the EU. The problem between Ankara and the EU was resolved by the
accord reached at meetings with the US and with Britain, which represented
the EU. This time the ball is in Greek corner and it has become a problem
between Athens and the EU. The EU is in real trouble at this point because
if a solution to satisfy all parties cannot be found by the summit which
willl be held in Laeken, Belgium on Friday, the 'European Army' planned to
be put together at the beginning of next year will be left hanging up in
the air. The EU would like to form a rapid reaction force which would
serve in areas particularly concerning its own security apart from NATO.
However, occasionally it has to use NATO facilities and anyway most of the
NATO countries are also EU members. (Turkey, however, is not.) And in
possible operations EU will need the support of Turkish facilities and
active support. In negotiations, at first parties hold high their
bargaining chips. Later they drop their demands to the point where it
won't harm their interests and reach an agreement. Following the long
negotiations process, such an agreement was reached between Ankara and the
EU. Turkey asked for a gurantee that in a dispute over Cyprus or the
Aegean the European army would not interfere and it got it. Ankara also
requested the right to automatic participation in operations which would
be conducted in its own region but when it was realized that that wasn't
in the cards, Turkey accepted a role within an 'expanded consultation
mechanism.'. Greece opposes this settlement on two points. First, it wants
the EU to stand by Athens in disputes concerning the Aegean or Cyprus and
second, it is insisting on Greek-Cypriot participation in the EU's
autonomous operations despite Turkey's oppositions. EU has three choices
at this point. First, it can reject theGreek demands. However, Greece may
use its veto at the Laeken summit and the European army can be stillborn.
Second, it can accept the Greek demands and this time may have to face
Turkish opposition, including its veto in NATO. Third, it may try to find
a middle path and try to change the prepared text. If both sides agree to
it, there will be no problem. Otherwise, the disagreement will drag
on."
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