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Turkish Press Review, 02-05-27
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Press
& Information
Turkish
Press
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
27.05.2002
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER HEADED TO NATO MEETING IN ITALY
[02] BAHCELI BEGINS VISIT TO CHINA
[03] ECEVIT TO LEAVE HOSPITAL TODAY
[04] YILMAZ: “THREE MEETINGS WILL PUT TURKEY’S EU ACCESSION ON TRACK”
[05] MEHMET CEYLAN JOINS BBP
[06] JOURNALISTS DISCUSS POST-SEPT. 11 ENVIRONMENT
[07] US AMBASSADOR PEARSON MEETS WITH TOBB DELEGATION
[08] BERNARD LEWIS RECEIVES “ATATURK AWARD”
[09] VISITING EUROPEAN BUSINESSMEN VOICE SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S EU BID
[10] ISTANBUL TO HOST WORLD FREIGHT CONGRESS
[11] KARACAOGLU BAKLAVA SOUGHT OUT BY GREEKS AND ISRAELIS
[12] VURAL: “MORE GERMANS WILL VISIT TURKEY THIS YEAR”
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[14] UNITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EUROPE FOR TURKS BY HASAN PULUR (MILLIYET)
[15] HELLO TO EU BY MUSTAFA BALBAY (CUMHURIYET)
[01] SEZER HEADED TO NATO MEETING IN ITALY
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, accompanied by Foreign Minister Ismail Cem,
will travel to Rome, Italy to attend the joint NATO-Russian heads of state
and government summit to be held tomorrow. A document regarding the
establishment of a NATO-Russian Federation Council is expected to be signed
at the meeting. /Turkiye/
[02] BAHCELI BEGINS VISIT TO CHINA
Deputy Prime Minister and Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader Devlet
Bahceli began his eight-day visit to China yesterday. Bahceli is being
accompanied by Industry and Commerce Minister Kenan Tanrikulu,
Transportation Minister Oktay Vural, State Minister Tunca Toskay, MHP
Deputy Chairman Suleyman Servet Sazak and MHP Istanbul Deputy Mehmet Gul.
Bahceli will visit to the Great Wall of China today and will also meet with
People’s Republic of China Deputy Prime Minister Qian Qichen. He is also
expected to meet with Chinese Communist Party Secretary-General and Prime
Minister Zhu Rongji tomorrow. Following his contacts in Beijing, Bahceli
and the accompanying delegation will proceed to Shanghai and the Xinjiang-
Uighur Autonomous Region, a region in northwest China where many thousands
of Turkic-speaking, predominantly Muslim Uighurs live. /Sabah/
[03] ECEVIT TO LEAVE HOSPITAL TODAY
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, who has been undergoing medical treatment at
Baskent University Hospital since May 17, will reportedly leave the
hospital to go home this afternoon. After a daily check-up yesterday,
Ecevit’s doctors said that he was getting better. The prime minister is
expected to address the nation tomorrow via television to update it on the
government’s activities. He is also expected to attend a National Security
Council (MGK) meeting scheduled for Friday. /All Papers/
[04] YILMAZ: “THREE MEETINGS WILL PUT TURKEY’S EU ACCESSION ON TRACK”
Deputy Prime Minister and Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz said
yesterday that three upcoming meetings – this week’s National Security
Council (MGK) meeting, a Cankaya summit called by President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer, and the government leaders’ summit – would put Turkey firmly on the
track towards European Union membership. Appearing on CNN Turk, Yilmaz
called June “a critical month” for Turkey tying up a date to start its EU
accession negotiations. Speaking also on the Cyprus issue, Yilmaz stated
that the Turkish side should openly declare to the world that it wants to
find a solution to the problem. “If this is done, then the Greek Cypriots’
EU membership could be prevented,” he said. “But if the Greek Cypriots get
into the EU, the Cyprus issue will change from a Turkish Cypriot-Greek
Cypriot or Turkish-Greek problem to a Turkish-EU matter.” /Sabah/
[05] MEHMET CEYLAN JOINS BBP
Independent Deputy from Sivas Mehmet Ceylan joined the Great Union Party
(BBP) yesterday. Ceylan will be the sole representative in Parliament of
the BBP, which brings the number of parties represented there to eight.
/Turkiye/
[06] JOURNALISTS DISCUSS POST-SEPT. 11 ENVIRONMENT
Journalists from the Middle East and Europe met this weekend at the Second
International Journalism Days held at Middle East Technical University in
Ankara. A highlight of the three-day event organized by the G-9 Platform
was Friday’s “What Changed After Sept. 11? Globalization, the Media, and
Democracy” event, a panel and discussion group to address the effect on the
media of last September’s terrorist attacks. /Turkish Daily News/
[07] US AMBASSADOR PEARSON MEETS WITH TOBB DELEGATION
US Ambassador Robert Pearson last week met with a delegation of the Turkish
Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) to exchange views on
recent economic developments. Remarking that the Turkish government had
succeeded in overcoming recent economic problems, Pearson stated that
political circles should focus on economic and political reforms father
than expending their time and energy on speculations on such matters as
early elections. Pearson and the delegation also discussed recent
developments concerning the qualified industrial zones (QIZs) which are to
be established in Turkey in accordance with an agreement signed by Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit in the US earlier this year. The US has insisted
that the OIZs produce high-tech products exclusively. However, Turkey has
expressed dissatisfaction with this idea, demanding that the range of
products to be produced in the QIZs be widened rather than restricting them
to high-tech products only. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] BERNARD LEWIS RECEIVES “ATATURK AWARD”
Historian Bernard Lewis yesterday received the “Ataturk Award” at a
ceremony held by the Ataturk Society of America (ASA) in Washington. Lewis
is professor emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University.
Richard Perle, former assistant secretary of defense and as a current
consultant to the Pentagon, presented the award to Lewis at the Turkish
Embassy in Washington. In a speech at the award ceremony, ASA Chairman
Metin Camcigil stated that Lewis was a person who knew Turkey and Turkish
culture well. He added that Lewis’ views on relations between the Islamic
and Western worlds were very similar to Ataturk’s ideas, reiterating that
the Ataturk Award, which represents “peace and universality,” was presented
to Lewis for his contributions to the promotion of Turkish culture in the
international community. /Cumhuriyet/
[09] VISITING EUROPEAN BUSINESSMEN VOICE SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S EU BID
A delegation from a key European business group declared yesterday that ýt
supports Turkey’s efforts to join the EU. Meeting with Turkish businessmen
at a dinner at Istanbul’s Ciragan Hotel, the delegation from the 45-member
European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) spoke with their Turkish
colleagues about the nation’s economic program in cooperation with the
International Monetry Fund. The ERT delegation was evidently impressed by
what they learned, and this is important since they have influence with EU
member countries’ institutions and governments. Today the delegation is set
to meet with Turkish Economy Minister Kemal Dervis. Jak Kamhi, an important
Turkish businessman accompanying the delegation during its visit, is said
to be having a positive effect on them and thus Turkish EU relations.
/Millyet/
[10] ISTANBUL TO HOST WORLD FREIGHT CONGRESS
The International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA)
announced this weekend that it would hold its annual World Congress this
year in Istanbul on Sept. 8-12. FIATA is one of the world’s largest trade
organizations, with same 40,000 members. The deputy chairman of the Turkish
Freight Forwarders Asssociation (UTIKAD) hailed the news, saying it would
give Turkey an opportunity to show its worth to leading countries in the
freight sector, such as the United States and member nations of the
European Union. /Hurriyet/
[11] KARACAOGLU BAKLAVA SOUGHT OUT BY GREEKS AND ISRAELIS
The Karacaoglu Group’s recent “Gold Star Award” handed out by the World
Quality Committee has attracted many Greek and Israeli companies to become
buyers of Karacaoglu’s baklava, the company’s pastry production chairman
announced over the weekend. Chairman Fatih Mehmet Karaca said that even
though a host of countries try to claim that they originated baklava,
“Turks continue to produce the best and most reasonably priced baklava in
the world.” /Aksam/
[12] VURAL: “MORE GERMANS WILL VISIT TURKEY THIS YEAR”
Oger Tour Board of Directors Chairman Vural Oger said yesterday that he
expected the number of German tourists visiting Turkey to increase this
year. Oger stated that according to a study done by the Munich Tourism
Research Institute, 7 million German people had plans to visit Turkey this
year. He added that a number of German tourists expected in Turkey’s Aegean
region had leapt by 40% and that Formula One racing competitions planned
for the future would attract a whole new group of visitors. /Aksam/
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[14] UNITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EUROPE FOR TURKS BY HASAN PULUR
(MILLIYET)
Columnist Hasan Pulur writes on a letter Turkey’s Ambassador to Sweden
Kuneralp wrote to Swedish newspaper ‘Aftonbladet,’ which had mistakenly
labelled a region in Turkey as ‘Kurdistan.’ A summary of his column is as
follows:
“Recently a Turkish map published by a Swedish newspaper caused a great
furor as it showed a region of Turkey under the name of ‘Kurdistan.’ The
person who was most harshly criticized in the ensuing flap was Turkey’s
Ambassador to Sweden Selim Kuneralp. However, Mr. Kuneralp sent a letter to
the newspaper the map had appeared in and the newspaper published the
article without editing a word of it. The ambassador began his article by
comparing the societies of Sween and Turkey. He said that Swedes had never
had to fight against separatist forces, as no such thing existed on their
land. However, he pointed out Turkey had lived with this concern for
centuries, and the PKK terrorist campaign had deepened this fear. Mr.
Kuneralp noted that Turkey had taken important steps to comply with the
Copenhagen criteria in order to be able to be admitted to the EU, but also
stated that complying with the Copenhagen criteria didn’t mean establishing
minority groups. He added that Turkey viewed all its citizens as being
equal. ‘In fact, as the presence of a minority means that there is a
‘second-class’ citizenry, it is not something to be envied for that
minority’ he wrote. The important issue for all citizens is to have equal
rights, including those of education and broadcasting in their own
languages. That is what Turkey is trying to provide.’ Ambassador Kuneralp
also commented on what Turkey considered to be more important, the unity of
the country or membership in the EU. He said, ‘If the EU and Sweden would
like to help these efforts, they must not give the impression that they
don’t respect the territorial integrity of Turkey. Since territorial
integrity is more important for the Turkish nation than EU membership, if
there is a concern that this membership will be a threat to its territorial
integrity, Turkey will immediately turn away from this target. Such a
reversal in policy will not benefit Turkish citizens, whatever their ethnic
origin, nor will it benefit the EU. Therefore, that is why the map
published by ‘Aftonbladet’ showing Turkey as divided is wrong. I hope such
maps will not be published in the future.’ Let’s underline this sentence by
the ambassador: ‘Territorial integrity is more important for the Turkish
nation than EU membership’.”
[15] HELLO TO EU BY MUSTAFA BALBAY (CUMHURIYET)
Columnist Mustafa Balbay comments on Turkish–EU relations. A summary of his
column is as follows:
“Nationalist Action Party (MHP) Deputy Ismail Kose states that if Turkey is
admitted into the EU while preserving the nation’s unity and integrity this
membership is most welcome, but otherwise it is not possible for Turkey to
make any concessions. This argument demonstrates how hard it is to find a
middle path in our discussions to become a full EU member. We are
witnessing contention between the Motherland Party (ANAP) and the MHP
rather than efforts to reach a compromise. It seems that the dispute
between the two parties will continue until the summit President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer has called for all political parties takes place. A rough
evaluation of the MHP’s policies may be summarized throughout the years as:
During the 1970s, it undertook the mission to guard Turkey against
communism and it experienced great growth. In the ‘80s, it took in
politicians in a wide spectrum ranging from radical fanatics to centre-
right parties. During the ‘90s it held the banner of protecting Turkey
against separatists and turned this policy into votes. At present, it seems
to have undertaken the duty of protecting Turkey against the EU. Although
the leader of MHP says that the most important steps towards the EU were
taken during their time in power, what remains in our memories from the
discussions held recently seems to be different. On the other hand we see
that ANAP and especially its leader Mesut Yilmaz are forcing the issue of
full membership in the EU. He states that we have to take risks, adding
that the threat of separation even exists today, and boldly underlines that
EU will help brighten the future. However, he also criticizes the EU and
states that acting hesitantly amounts to simple political incompetence.
However it seeems that none of the parties are listening to each other
while defending their own views.We believe that three main issues will be
discussed during the summit President Sezer has called. They are abolition
of the death penalty, Kurdish, and Emergency Rule (OHAL) in southeastern
Turkey. None of the parties apart from ANAP and Democraticl Left Party
(DSP) can act independently from their own grassroots. We are not
discussing Kurdish properly. Every country has an official language of
education. This is the case in all EU countries. However, anyone wishing to
do so can learn the language he or she wants to. In Turkey, there is the
question of Turkish. If the state cannot teach the official language to its
citizens, what else do you expect ? Emergency Rule is a relative issue. It
can be lifted at any moment According to the EU, Cyprus is a priority.
However, we believe that all Turkey will act in unison on the subject.
Therefore it is not regarded as an internal problem. Turkey can overcome
all these hurdles, but the real obstacle is the general elections. It seems
that the 57th government will discuss all the steps to be taken, but the
58th government will realize them.”
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