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Turkish Press Review, 02-03-06
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Press
& Information
Turkish
Press
Turkish
Press Review >>
Foreign
Press Guide
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
06.03.2002
CONTENTS
[01] TURKEY TO TRAIN SLOVAKIAN OFFICERS
[02] ECEVIT: “TURKEY IS INDISPENSABLE FOR THE EU”
[03] COALITION LEADERS MEET
[04] TALABANI GIVES ASSURANCES ON PUK’S STANCE CONCERNING IRAQ
[05] DUTCH DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY
[06] KAHKONEN: “BE PATIENT, THE PROGRAM IS GOING WELL”
[07] COMMISSION AGREES TO REDUCE PRESIDENTS’ TERMS
[08] DENKTAS MEETS CLERIDES IN BUFFER ZONE
[09] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER DECLARES OPPOSITION TO TURKISH PARTICIPATION IN ESDP
[10] US RELEASES HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT
[11] US FAVORS TURKEY IN STEEL TARIFF DECISION
[12] TURKISH-GREEK BUSINESSMEN’S ANATOLIAN TOUR STARTS IN BALIKESIR
[13] TURKEY TO ATTEND DRUG SUMMIT IN BOLIVIA
[14] US GOVERNOR BUSH SEEKS COOPERATION WITH ANTALYA
[15] JCR BOOSTS TURKEY’S RATING
[16] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[17] DON’T LET FEAR PREVAIL BY GUNGOR MENGI (SABAH)
[18] THE WAR IS NOT OVER BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
[19] US WRITER’S REVOLT AGAINST ARMENIANS BY TUFAN TURENC (HURRIYET)
[01] TURKEY TO TRAIN SLOVAKIAN OFFICERS
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday met with Slovakian President Rudolf
Schuster. State Minister Tunca Toskay and Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail
Cem accompanied Sezer during his visit to Slovakia. Speaking to reporters
after a one-hour meeting between the two presidents, Schuster said that
Turkey would train Slovakian officers who would take part in NATO. Schuster
also said that the two countries had agreed to establish cooperation both
economic and cultural. For his part, Sezer said that Turkey would support
Slovakia’s bid to become a member of NATO. /Hurriyet/
[02] ECEVIT: “TURKEY IS INDISPENSABLE FOR THE EU”
In an interview with daily newspaper Cumhuriyet, Turkish Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit yesterday offered his evaluations of current Turkish-EU
relations and recent disputes on Turkey’s bid for EU membership between his
government coalition partners the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) and the
Motherland Party (ANAP). Remarking that the MHP-ANAP dispute was not
serious, Ecevit said that the coalition government had a strong political
will to overcome all difficulties and added that despite all the
disagreements on the issue, there was no doubt that every member of the
coalition wanted Turkey’s full EU membership. Commenting on Turkish-EU
relations, Ecevit stated that although there were certain circles who did
not want Turkey to join the Union, Turkey was indispensable for Europe. “No
matter how much certain European circles try to hamper Turkey’s bid for EU
membership, the EU will never give up on Turkey,” said Ecevit. “That’s why
I don’t place a high premium on what these circles say or do. For example,
although they know that the judiciary is independent in Turkey, they ask us
not to close down the People’s Democracy Party (HADEP). But it’s not the
government which will have the final word on the matter.” /Cumhuriyet/
[03] COALITION LEADERS MEET
Government coalition leaders met yesterday to exchange views on a variety
of topics. Following their one-hour meeting, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
told reporters that the talks had been very fruitful. Referring to recent
discussions and speculations of Turkey’s adaptation to EU norms, Ecevit
said, “We established very clearly that there was no doubt or disagreement
among the coalition partners concerning EU membership.” /Turkiye/
[04] TALABANI GIVES ASSURANCES ON PUK’S STANCE CONCERNING IRAQ
Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK),
yesterday met with Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Foreign
Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal in Ankara. Talabani discussed security
and stability in northern Iraq with the Turkish officials, since both
Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds fear the instability which might result from any
attempt to bring down Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Speaking to the press
after his meetings, Talabani reiterated that the PUK advocated the idea of
“an independent, united and democratic Iraq” and added that he had given
his assurance to Turkish officials that the PUK would do its utmost to
defend this idea. Talabani also remarked that the PUK would lend its full
support to any operation aiming to bring a democratic regime to Iraq,
adding that the PUK shared Turkey’s views on the necessity to eliminate all
factors threatening Iraq’s territorial integrity and peace in the region.
/Cumhuriyet/
[05] DUTCH DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY
Dutch Defense Minister Frank de Grave and Chief of General Staff Luuk Kroon
visited Turkey yesterday with an accompanying delegation. Turkish Chief of
General Staff Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu was unable to make an appointment
with his Dutch counterpart due to scheduling conflicts. Deputy Prime
Minister Mesut Yilmaz reiterated Turkey’s views that the PKK AND DHKP-C
should be added to the EU’s recent list of terrorist organizations and that
the Netherlands should stop applying double standards on the issue of
fighting terrorism. The Dutch delegation also met with State Minister
Ramazan Mirzaoglu, who is currently serving as deputy for Defense Minister
Sabahattin Cakmakoglu. Stating that Turkey supported the Netherlands’
stance concerning the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan, Mirzaoglu
said, “However, we don’t understand why the Netherlands has turned a blind
eye to the terrorist groups the PKK and the DHKP-C. We consider this a
clear double standard.” /Cumhuriyet/
[06] KAHKONEN: “BE PATIENT, THE PROGRAM IS GOING WELL”
International Monetary Fund Turkey Desk Chief Juha Kahkonen arrived
yesterday in Turkey for the first review and consultation on the
government’s economic program. Kahkonen met with members of the Turkish
Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) in Istanbul and
listened to the concerns of the real sector and told them to be patient,
that the economic program was going well. Kahkonen is due to meet today
with State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis and with the Turkish Banks
Union (TBB). /Hurriyet/
[07] COMMISSION AGREES TO REDUCE PRESIDENTS’ TERMS
The Interparty Reconciliation Commission agreed yesterday that the term of
office of Turkish presidents should be reduced from seven years to five,
but that the current president would not be affected by these changes. The
commission was however unable to reach an agreement on a measure that would
restrict the pool of potential future presidents to members of Parliament,
with the Democratic Left Party (DSP) coming out against the measure.
/Hurriyet/
[08] DENKTAS MEETS CLERIDES IN BUFFER ZONE
Turkish Republic of North Cyprus President Rauf Denktas met Greek Cypriot
leader Glafcos Clerides yesterday at the Cypriot buffer zone in the latest
of series of direct talks to reach a solution for the island. UN Envoy
Alvaro de Soto was also present as an observer. Continuing the policy of
limited press statements during the negotiations, Denktas told reporters
only that the second phase of direct talks would move to detailed
discussion of issues raised in the first. /Star/
[09] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER DECLARES OPPOSITION TO TURKISH PARTICIPATION IN
ESDP
Greek Defense Minister Giannos Papantoniou yesterday declared his
opposition to Turkey’s participation in a planned European army to be
formed under the auspices of the European Security and Defense Policy
(ESDP), a pan-European Union military mechanism. Papantoniou said that for
the ESDP to be credible, it should stand independently. While ESDP plans
call for it to use NATO assets, Turkey belongs to NATO but not yet to the
EU. /Star/
[10] US RELEASES HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT
The US State Department yesterday released its annual Human Rights Report
for the year 2001. In the section covering Turkey the report noted that
last October the country passed a reform package proposing important
amendments to the Constitution. However, it claimed that human rights
violations were still an important issue for Turkey. Stressing that the
reform package, which addressed topics such as freedom of speech, freedom
of assembly, private life, duration of detention and equality of the sexes
in marriage, had passed Turkey’s Parliament by a majority with both the
ruling and opposition parties’ support, it asserted that, however, no
change has been seen in these matters as of last year. The report said that
the PKK terrorist organization’s activities had decreased and that its
militants had withdrawn to camps close to Turkey’s borders in neighbouring
contries. On the other hand, it noted that violence at the hand of other
terrorist organizations, namely the DHKP-C, Hizbullah, the IBDA-C and TIKKO,
was still continuing. The report also stressed that the Greek government
needed to improve its handling of education and freedom of belief for Turks
living in Western Thrace. /Turkiye/
[11] US FAVORS TURKEY IN STEEL TARIFF DECISION
Bowing to pressure from US steelmakers, US President George W. Bush
reportedly decided on Tuesday to impose tariffs of 30% of most
international steel imports to the US, but he exempted Turkey from this
decision. The Washington Post reported that Bush reached this decision
after consulting with his advisors in the Oval Office. But while the
tariffs are expected to hit Europe and Japan hard, such US neighbors as
Canada and Mexico and developing nations such as Thailand and US ally
Turkey were reportedly exempted. A representative of a legal firm
representing Turkish steel exporters in the US said, “This is a very
important decision. Under it, Turkey will not be subject to any
protectionist measures.” /Aksam/
[12] TURKISH-GREEK BUSINESSMEN’S ANATOLIAN TOUR STARTS IN BALIKESIR
At the first stop yesterday of the “Turkish-Greek Businessmen’s Anatolian
Tour” in Balikesir organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Committee
(DEIK), Turkish businessmen called upon their businessmen neighbors to make
more investments. The Greek businessmen, hosted by the DEIK and Balikesir
Chamber of Commerce Chairman Rona Yircali, first visited Balikesir Governor
Utku Acun. Turkish-Greek Friendship Association Chairman and Greek National
Bank Director Panagiotis Koutsikos said, “It is time to improve commercial
relations between our two countries and to open up to other countries.”
Koutsikos added that they could come to an agreement with Turkish
businessmen and export olive oil, tobacco and grapes, beginning with the
Black Sea region and then to the Central Asian market. Remarking that the
two sides have taken important steps towards political cooperation over the
last two years, Koutsikos added that the political developments should move
forward along with strengthened economic cooperation. /Aksam/
[13] TURKEY TO ATTEND DRUG SUMMIT IN BOLIVIA
Turkey announced yesterday that it would attend a drug summit to be held in
La Paz, Bolivia, later this year, as an observer. Turkey will be
represented by a delegation of three from the Security and Customs
Directorate, consisting of Security Director General Kemal Onal, Customs
Protection Director General Hakki Teke and Security Organization Anti-
Smuggling Department Chairman Ismail Caliskan. The struggle for global
cooperation against drugs and operations effective in fighting drug
trafficking will be discussed at the summit, the first of its kind since
1980. The summit, which will be attended by 100 delegates from 32 countries
and the US Drug Enforcement Agency’s Middle East and Turkey representative,
will last for three days. /Aksam/
[14] US GOVERNOR BUSH SEEKS COOPERATION WITH ANTALYA
Jeb Bush, the governor of the US state of Florida and brother and close
ally to President George W. Bush, sent a letter to the Antalya Chamber of
Commerce (ATSO) recently saying that he hoped to establish broad
cooperation with the Mediterranean province. ATSO Executive Board Chairman
Menderes Turel disclosed the letter and discussed how during an ATSO
delegation’s visit to the US, a series of meetings were held in order to
improve the economic, commercial and social issues with high-ranking
officials there. Turel added that during this visit, they had a phone
conversation with Jeb Bush and invited him to visit Antalya. Turel added,
“Governor Bush had previously said that he would visit Antalya this
February. However, he postponed this visit following the Sept. 11 attacks.
In his letter to ATSO, Jeb Bush wrote that he had given authority to his
economic advisor Manny Mencia to establish economic, commercial and social
cooperation with Antalya, and that he hoped to forge wide-ranging ties with
us, which pleased us greatly to hear.” /Milliyet/
[15] JCR BOOSTS TURKEY’S RATING
Japanese rating institution JCR yesterday raised Turkey’s economic rating
from negative to stable and confirmed its rating as B+ in terms of the
Japanese yen. JCR officials stated in their evaluation of the Turkish
economy that their rating reflected the improvement of Turkey’s
implementation of its economic program, supported by the IMF, as well as
Turkey’s geopolitical importance. /Milliyet/
[16] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[17] DON’T LET FEAR PREVAIL BY GUNGOR MENGI (SABAH)
Columnist Gungor Mengi writes on the Turkish-EU relations. A summary of his
column is as follows:
“There are only six weeks now for Turkey to fulfill her short–term
commitments to the EU. Everything is up in the air right now. Those
promises which also appear in the National Programme will be kept through
the enactment of amendments to 64 articles of 17 laws by Parliament before
March 24. No one, including the anti-EU lobby in Turkey and those against
Turkey in Europe, deemed it possible that Turkey would reach such a point.
However, the working through this calendar, albeit with difficulty, alarmed
the opposing fronts whose aims were one and the same, and consequently
provocations aimed at derailing the process came one after another. As this
activity was going on, the Motherland Party’s (ANAP) initiative for the
complete abolition of the death penalty was a mistake. In Foreign Minister
Ismail Cem’s words, it led to a nonsensical dispute which damaged Turkey’s
path. Politics is the art of doing what is feasible. The Nationalist Action
Party’s (MHP) stance obstructed Turkey’s ability to act more quickly.
Yesterday MHP leader Bahceli stated that discussions over the abolition of
death penalty, education and broadcasting in Kurdish and the efforts to
provide a political groundwork for the PKK were being conflated. Would not
carrying out these policies snatch the initiative away from the PKK?
However, at present there are no grounds under which the issues can be
discussed calmly and with common sense. Therefore, the government must be
satisfied with the amendment to the Constitution effectively abolishing the
death penalty except during times of war, close combat or terrorism.
However, it must manage to reach an agreement over the granting of freedom
to TV and radio broadcasting in native tongues and over opening courses to
teach Kurdish. Turkey should not permit a defeated, decimated PKK to stand
in its way. Those who know that our EU membership goal is stronger and more
precious than our fears may be grieved or they may be subject to slanders.
No difficulty or sacrifice should deter those believing in this casue.”
[18] THE WAR IS NOT OVER BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Sami Kohen comments on the ongoing war in Afghanistan and
Turkey’s stance. A summary of his column is as follows:
“It was believed that the war in Afghanistan was over. However, incidents
which led to the downing of two US helicopters and the death of eight
American soldiers this week demonstrated that the clashes were continuing
and Al Qaida and Taleban forces were hiding in the mountains. The US is
preparing broad operations against these hostile forces among whom are Arab
and Chechen warriors.The operations’ aim is to sweep Afghanistan clean of
Al Qaida and and Taleban militants. The heating up of clashes in
Afghanistan may have two results which closely concern us. First, this
incident shows that it will not be easy to establish peace and stability in
Afghanistan. The international community has sent troops with this aim to
the country. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is right
now deployed only in Kabul. In April the command of the force may be turned
over to a Turkish officer. However, Ankara is insisting on certain
conditions. The last incident has demonstrated how right Turkey is in
acting carefully on the issue... Secondly, these last clashes have shown
that the US has to stay in Afghanistan for some time longer. Can the Bush
administration open new fronts in other parts of the world under such
circumstances? Officials in Washington state that US will go wherever Al
Qaida is present. Is Iraq included? The US officials cannot give a clear
answer to this question. At the moment, there has been no decison made on
the issue. This does not exclude such a possibility in the future. While
the US is battling in the swamp of Afghanistan, it may hesitate to open
another front in Iraq. US military sources say that they will certainly end
the war in Afghanistan but it may take some time. It is easy to start a war
but hard to end it.”
[19] US WRITER’S REVOLT AGAINST ARMENIANS BY TUFAN TURENC (HURRIYET)
Columnist Tufan Turenc writes on a book published by an American writer on
the Armenian deception campaign. A summary of his column is as follows:
“Armenian fanatics are expending every possible effort to sabotage the
friendship between two nations. It is not comprehensible why they are doing
this or what purpose they think this would serve? Their aim is to pit Turks
and Armenians against each other. A new book on the issue, entitled
‘Armenia- The Great Deception,’ will be published in the US on April 6. The
writer is Sam Weems, a retired prosecutor living in Arkansas. A fervent
Christian, Weems states in his book that Armenians used all kinds of lies
and slanders to defame Turks using their religious identity in the process,
and supports these claims with documents. Weems studies the archives in
Washington, London, Paris, Moscow and Istanbul, but he was barred from
access to the Armenian archives. He says that the large number of churches
in Turkey show the tolerance of its people, whereas none of the old mosques
on Armenian soil stand any longer. His demographic calculations,
extrapolated from the reports of US and British civil servants and military
officials serving in Turkey, show that a genocide having occurred out of
the question.”
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