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Turkish Press Review, 02-10-14Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr><LINK href="http://www.byegm.gov.tr_yayinlarimiz_chr_pics_css/tpr.css" rel=STYLESHEET type=text/css> <map name="FPMap1"> </map> <map name="FPMap1"></map> Press & Information Turkish Press Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning14.10.2002CONTENTS
[01] ISTANBUL HOSTS ECO LEADERS’ SUMMITThe Seventh Leaders’ Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (OEC) is set to begin today in Istanbul. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer will represent Turkey at the summit, where he is set to take over the two-year ECO term presidency from Iranian President Mohammed Khatami. Also due to participate in the one-day gathering are Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev, Tajik President Imamali Rahmanov, Uzbek Parliament Speaker Erkin Halilov, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister Recep Saparov. /Aksam/[02] ECEVIT: “EUROPE CAN’T ABANDON TURKEY[03] AND STAND ALONE”Addressing a campaign rally in the eastern Anatolia city of Kars yesterday, Prime Minister and Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Bulent Ecevit said that Europe couldn’t abandon Turkey and stand alone. Ecevit also stated that European Union was waiting to see what sort of government would be established after next month’s elections. If the new government runs counter to Turkey’s traditional principle of secularism, then the doors of the EU will be closed to us, warned Ecevit. /Hurriyet/[04] YILMAZ: “IF THERE IS INTERVENTION IN IRAQ,[05] TURKEY SHOULD TAKE PART”Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz told reporters yesterday that Turkey was ready to take all necessary steps to prevent the establishment of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq. Yilmaz added that if an operation was launched against Iraq, Turkey should not act as a mere observer, but should instead actively take part in the operation in order to prevent the formation of such a state. Commenting on the possible effects of a war, Yilmaz asserted that were Turkey to participate in such an operation, its effects on the nation would actually be positive. /Cumhuriyet/[06] CILLER: “THE DYP IS THE ONLY PARTY[07] WHICH WILL FIGHT FOR THE NATION’S INTERESTS”Speaking to a campaign rally in Canakkale yesterday, True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller said that her party would work to raise Turkey’s standards of living. Lamenting that Turkey was the most indebted country in Europe and also the one with the highest unemployment, Ciller laid the blame squarely on the “mistakes of the current government,” adding, “The DYP is the only party which will fight for the nation’s interests.” Addressing a later DYP rally in Izmit, Ciller pledged that her party would work to overcome unemployment, which she called Turkey’s most pressing problem. /Milliyet/[08] KUTAN: “ONLY THE SP CAN SAVE TURKEY[09] FROM AN IRAQ OPERATION”Felicity Party (SP) leader Recai Kutan charged yesterday that current public opinion polls weren’t telling the truth, since they failed to reflect the SP’s true level of support among the people. Addressing the subject of a possible United States operation against Iraq, Kutan said that only the SP could protect Turkey from such an operation. Kutan also said that after coming to power in next month’s elections, the SP’s first action would be to change the sugar law. /Milliyet/[10] BAHCELI: “TURKEY CANNOT ALLOW THE[11] ESTABLISHMENT OF A KURDISH STATE”On a campaign swing through central Anatolia yesterday, Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli underscored his party’s pledge to protect Turkey’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Addressing a rally in Kirikkale, Bahceli stressed how recent developments in northern Iraq were drifting dangerously towards the establishment of a state there, a development he said Turkey could in no way allow. He further charged that certain European Union harmonization laws had been passed only at the EU’s behest, since “the citizens of Turkey never asked for such laws.” Speaking later in Kayseri, Bahceli alleged that public opinion polls appearing in the news were meant to deceive the public, not inform them. In a number of polls purporting to forecast Nov. 3 election results, the MHP has not fared especially well. /Turkiye/[12] CEM: “THE YTP IS AGAINST AN IRAQ OPERATION”Speaking in the southern Anatolia city of Adana yesterday, New Turkey Party (YTP) leader Ismail Cem said that his party was opposed to a possible United States operation against Iraq, adding that the Turkish nation wanted a peaceful resolution in the region. Cem went on to criticize the propriety of a recent statement on the issue by Prime Minister and Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Bulent Ecevit, who had said such an operation would claim many young lives. Such a subject is quite grave, said Cem, “and our nation desrves to be informed about it.” /Milliyet/[13] BAYKAL: “CAST YOUR VOTE FOR THOSE WHO[14] CAN DO THE JOB”Seeking voter support in the western Anatolia city of Denizli, Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal charged yesterday that Turkey had been beset for years by incompetent administration. The CHP has not been government partner since 1995, and it failed to earn parliamentary representation in the 1999 elections. Vote on Nov. 3 for those who can run the country well, urged Baykal, clearly meaning his own party. Addressing the issue of deputies’ legal immunity from criminal prosecution, Baykal vowed to end this practice once he came to power. Later addressing a campaign rally in the Black Sea city of Samsun, Baykal said he was proud of the attacks his party was drawing. “Most of other parties are attacking us, ” he said, “since it is they who have mired the country in a swamp of corruption.” /Turkiye/[15] ERDOGAN: “DON’T FALL FOR FALSE CAMPAIGN PROMISES”Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday lashed out at the leaders of rival political parties, saying they were making promises on the campaign trail they had no intention of fulfilling. Speaking to voters in the eastern Anatolia cities of Erzincan and Erzurum, Erdogan asked Turkey’s citizens not to believe such promises. Singling out chief AKP competition in the polls the Republican People’s Party (CHP) for criticism, Erdogan alleged that it was misrepresenting itself as a “clean, corruption-free” party. “But people haven’t forgotten CHP corruption when it held the Istanbul mayor’s post,” he added. The CHP preceded Erdogan himself in the Istanbul mayor’s seat. While in power it faced a water and sewage scandal, but there were also allegations of corruption during Erdogan’s 1994-98 tenure in office. /Turkiye/[16] GUREL: “IN THE ABSENCE OF A UN RESOLUTION,[17] TURKEY IS OPPOSED TO INTERVENTION IN IRAQ”Speaking to reporters yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel said that Turkey would oppose military intervention in Iraq unless a UN Security Council resolution were passed to that end. But in case of such intervention, Gurel pledged that the government would do everything possible to ameliorate any negative effects on Turkey. Asked about recent developments in northern Iraq, Gurel said that if Turkey sees groups in northern Iraq beginning to threaten Iraq’s territorial integrity or Turkey itself, the nation wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever is necessary to counter this. /Hurriyet/[18] ZIYAL TELLS PEARSON OF TURKEY’S[19] CONCERNS ON NORTHERN IRAQIn his meeting last week with US Ambassador to Turkey Robert Pearson, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal reportedly expressed Turkey’s discomfort with recent developments in northern Iraq. Of special concern are the recent meeting of a regional Parliament and its steps to establish a standard currency and flag, Ziyal reportedly said. Ziyal reiterated to the head US representative in Turkey that the nation would do whatever was necessary to protect its interests. /Hurriyet/[20] MUSHARRAF: “WE SUPPORT THE[21] ESTABLISHMENT OF REGIONAL PEACE”In a speech yesterday at the Istanbul War Academy, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf stated that Turkey and Pakistan faced similar responsibilities in the modern era. “Pakistan would like to see peace and stability in our region in the 21st century,” he added. Stressing the pivotal nature of the two countries in current international affairs, Musharraf said that Pakistan and Turkey shared a similar modern and tolerant outlook, adding that Pakistan would continue to take part in the international coalition against terrorism. President Musharraf will be attending the Seventh Leaders’ Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) today at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace. /Cumhuriyet/[22] BLUE STREAM NATURAL GAS PIPELINE NEARS COMPLETIONThe Blue Stream natural gas pipeline, a major project to transport natural gas from Russia to Turkey, is due to be completed at the end of this month, reports said yesterday. Two pipelines, one following an underwater route beneath the Black Sea, and the other built to transport natural gas to Ankara, will be linked to each other on Oct. 28 with a ceremony in Samsun, a Black Sea province. Both Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Energy Minister Zeki Cakan are scheduled to attend the ceremony. /Hurriyet/[23] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[24] FROM THE COLUMNS[25] ALL EYES TURN TO KIRKUK[26] BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)Columnist Fikret Bila writes on the latest developments in northern Iraq. A summary of his column is as follows:“Ankara is seriously concerned about the Kirkuk issue. As we all know, Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP) leader Massoud Barzani and Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IPUK) leader Jalal Talabani recently issued a draft constitution. This document envisions a flag, Parliament and presidency for an ‘Iraqi Kurdistan’ as a largely autonomous part of a federal Iraq, coupled with a claim to the oil-rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk as a capital. These plans set off alarm bells in Turkey, where the idea of a Kurdish state is unacceptable. Appearing on CNN Turk over the weekend, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit gave his views on the issue, expressing his clear concern about the latest developments. Ecevit stated that Ankara had already conveyed to Washington its concerns on the Kirkuk issue, which is in fact an ethnic Turkmen region, reiterating that Ankara is extremely sensitive about the Turkmen groups’ future. Diplomatic sources in Ankara are arguing that should Kirkuk become the capital of a Kurdish state per Talabani and Barzani’s plans, then the region would be plunged into a larger war which would shatter all the balances prevailing among Iraq and its neighbors. These sources are insistently warning US officials about all the possible negative consequences of such a development, recalling that in 1991 the US blocked Talabani from occupying Kirkuk during the Gulf War. Ankara is urging the Bush administration to once again keep these groups from seizing Kirkuk, taking into consideration all the catastrophic scenarios surrounding such an incident. Prime Minister Ecevit’s recent statement arguing that Turkey was being dragged towards war sent shockwaves through domestic political circles. Everybody is trying to figure out what’s really happening in Iraq right now. Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputy Chairman Abdullah Gul recently requested that Ecevit brief top Turkish politicians on the latest developments there. ‘Ecevit has made significant remarks on the Iraq issue, ’ said Gul. ‘This is a national problem. Turkey has to clarify its stance on the issue and try to alter the current course of events. That’s why the prime minister must immediately brief us on the recent developments. If need be, a leaders’ summit must be held to discuss the issue and determine what should be done.’ Ahead of the early elections, the Iraq issue has leapt to the top of Turkey’s political agenda. All eyes have turned to northern Iraq, Kirkuk and the Bush administration.” [27] THE EU’S TACTICS[28] BY SUKRU ELEKDAG (SABAH)Columnist Sukru Elekdag comments on the EU’s Progress Report on candidate countries released last week. A summary of his column is as follows:“The EU didn’t set a date for Turkey for the accession talks to begin in its recent Progress Report. However, contrary to what certain circles are saying, this in no way means that Europe has shut its doors to Turkey forever. Let’s listen to what EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen said: ‘The European Commission will offer Turkey a date for its accession talks as soon as the nation proves that it is complying with what’s laid out in the report and implements the reforms. Turkey’s path towards the EU is clear.’ Yet, Verheugen’s statement is far from being just and fair, for, having recently taken giant steps in abiding by the Copenhagen criteria, Turkey had rightfully expected a more encouraging attitude from the commission, one envisaging a green light to Turkey’s membership at December’s Copenhagen summit. The EU, unlike its stance towards other candidate countries, failed to take a tolerant stance with Turkey, which has displayed a resilient political will to meet the criteria put forth by the EU. Turkey has furthermore, at every occasion, reiterated that it is determined to put the reforms into practice. The EU’s intolerant attitude on Turkey’s membership bid has proven one thing: The EU is making its moves in line with certain designs. There are two main tactics the EU employed in its Progress Report. The first is that the EU is planning to push Turkey to compromise on the Cyprus issue. Secondly, it is waiting for Turkey’s Nov. 3 elections lying just ahead to see whether or not a stable and a powerful government, one capable of implementing the EU’s political and economic criteria, will emerge. All in all, in its Progress Report, the EU worked within a precise, objective framework in assessing Turkey’s achievements to date. But when it came to discussing what Turkey ‘has been unable to achieve,’ the EU failed to show the same exactitude and objectivity.” ARCHIVE <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js"> </script> Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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