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Turkish Press Review, 03-04-14Turkish 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> e-mail : newspot@byegm.gov.tr <caption> <_caption> Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning14.04.2003GUL’S HOPES AND CONCERNS BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET) THE END OF THE ROAD IN CYPRUS BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)CONTENTS
[01] GUL: “KURDISH PESHMERGAS HAVE BEGUN TO WITHDRAW FROM KIRKUK”Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said yesterday that Kurdish peshmergas who last week took control of the city of Kirkuk and its environs had now begun to withdraw from the region, as both they and the United States had promised. “However, he added, “there is still a lack of order. We want peace and stability established in the region.” Speaking to reporters, Gul said that British Foreign Minister Jack Straw had called him to say that British troops in the region were doing what they could to improve the situation. “Our contacts with Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan [IPUK] leader Jalal Talabani and Iraqi Kurdistan Democracy Party [IKDP] leader Massoud Barzani are continuing,” added Gul. “When a new Iraqi administration is being put together, factors important to Iraq’s ethnic Turkmen should be taken into consideration.” /Turkiye/[02] TURKISH MONITORING TEAM IN NORTHERN IRAQ REPORTS NO SYSTEMATIC ATTACK ON TURKMENA team of 15 Turkish military personnel sent late last week to Kirkuk and Mosul to observe the current situation in the newly liberated northern Iraqi cities and their environs has sent its first report to Turkish officials. The report stated that despite a number of isolated incidents, there was no systematic attack taking place on the cities’ Turkmen. Regarding official land and population records, which media reports last week said were being destroyed by Kurdish forces, the monitoring team said that most of the records had survived intact, though some of them had been lost during the cities’ plundering. The report also confirmed that the majority of the Kurdish peshmergas had withdrawn from Kirkuk, as both they and the United States had pledged. /Sabah/[03] BAYKAL: “TURKEY NEEDS A NEW APPROACH ON CYPRUS”Turkey needs a change in its Cyprus policy, Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said yesterday. “It is now clear that there’s a need for a new approach on the Cyprus issue,” he stated. “The Greek Cypriot administration will soon join the European Union, despite the fact that this violates agreements concerning the island as well as international law.” Baykal added that the priority now should be lifting the economic embargo on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). On Wednesday, Greek Cyprus is due to sign key EU accession papers with the EU, illegally on behalf of the entire island. /Cumhuriyet/[04] ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS TURKEYIsraeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom yesterday arrived in Ankara at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. In addition to Gul, Shalom is expected to meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. /Milliyet/[05] CB HEAD SERDENGECTI: “DESPITE THE WAR, TURKEY’S ECONOMY COULD GROW 3.6% THIS YEAR”Turkey’s economy could continue its healthy growth this year despite the war in Iraq, predicted Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti yesterday at the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. “I think that Turkey will grow 3.6% this year, even though it took some time for the Justice and Development Party [AKP] government to complete the fourth review of its economic program,” Sedengecti told the gathering in Washington. “The Iraq war has hurt Turkey’s tourism sector and oil revenues, and it could jeopardize our fiscal stability.” However, the CB has taken all necessary measures to head off such a development, he added. /Milliyet/[06] TOBB CHAIRMAN HISARCIKLIOGLU: “THE AKP’S PRIORITY SHOULD BE THE ECONOMY”Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu said that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government’s priority should be the economy. “If we want our country to grow more self-sufficient and powerful, then we should try to better our economy,” declared Hisarciklioglu. “However, if we fail to do this, our economy will be more vulnerable to pressures from outside our borders.” /Turkiye/[07] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS[08] GUL’S HOPES AND CONCERNS BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)Columnist Fikret Bila comments on Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s hopes and concerns concerning the war in Iraq. A summary of his column is as follows:“Stating that the Iraq war hadn’t led to dangerous developments, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told me, ‘Our nation can rest easy now. We wouldn’t allow a Turkish-Kurdish conflict to break out. Everybody knows this. Certainly Turkey’s red lines haven’t been crossed. The US is aware of our sensitivities and determination concerning this issue. We’re constantly receiving updates on the situation.’ Stating that the greatest danger was an Arab-Kurdish conflict in the region, Gul added, ‘This is the danger we should guard against. The Arabs and Kurds should both watch their steps in order not to trigger a conflict. The US also should keep this in mind. If such a conflict begins, it might engulf the whole region.’ Gul is worried that such an ethnically based conflict could turn into a civil war, a danger he thinks the whole world should be concerned about. He also said that Turkey wouldn’t allow a Turkish-Kurdish conflict to develop and that Ankara has warned the US and as well as Kurdish leaders Barzani and Talabani on this matter. Stating that Ankara had solid sources of information, Gul said, ‘We know the region very well. We helped and are still assisting the US to gather information. We share and jointly evaluate our information. Our contributions on this are important. We know about all developments as soon as they happen.’ Concerning Turkey’s possible place at Iraq’s reconstruction table following the war, Gul said, ‘If sitting at the table means contributing to Iraq’s reconstruction, of course we’ll be there. We’ll play a role in that process, even as we are already playing a role there now.’ Stating that Ankara was ready to help people wounded during the war, Gul added, ‘We’ve sent 500 truckloads of food and medical aid. We also offered to send doctors and medical teams. The real problem is security. We suggested that we could transport the injured out of the country to Turkey. However, right now there are no security measures for landing or flying planes at the airports. We thought about bringing them by car or truck but this would be a long and risky road. We also thought about transporting them by helicopter but again there is no security this way either. As soon as security is established, we will bring in injured and sick people. We’ve made the necessary preparations at our hospitals.’ Gul is hopeful about the future. He thinks the situation in Iraq should be normalized as soon as possible. Therefore he says that a new civil order should be established rapidly, the risk of a civil conflict should be defused and the people’s security should be ensured. He says following this process, Turkey will greatly contribute to Iraq’s reconstruction and the nation’s riches will be used for the Iraqi people. He thinks that this situation will create important opportunities for the Turkish economy as well.” [09] THE END OF THE ROAD IN CYPRUS BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)Columnist Ferai Tinc writes on The Greek Cyprus administration’s looming EU accession and Turkish-EU relations. A summary of her column is as follows:“On Wednesday we are about to face a very unpleasant and a sad situation on the Cyprus issue, on the day when the EU is set to officially welcome Cyprus into the Union. The brilliant diplomacy that Greece has been conducting for a decade now will at last bear its fruits. Turkey, alongside other EU candidate countries such as Bulgaria and Romania, is also due to participate in the ceremony. At this point there is a heated debate going on as to whether Turkey should show up to attend the occasion. Certain circles contend that being there on that day will amount to our eventually recognizing Greek Cyprus. I don’t quite agree. As you may remember, Turkey invited the Greek Cypriot administration to a 1999 meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Istanbul. There were similar concerns then, too. Yet, at that time, it was largely concluded that inviting Greek Cyprus to the conference would not mean recognizing it. After all it’s up to Ankara and Ankara alone to change its mind on the issue and recognize a country which is already recognized by the world. That’s why attending Wednesday’s meeting would make no difference. The crux of the problem lies in Turkey’s stance on Cyprus’ EU membership. Ankara opposes Cyprus’ EU accession before any resolution is reached on the island. But if Turkey decides to pursue a line of crisis politics on the problem, then there is a need for an overall change in Turkey’s relations with Europe, which would then be exclusively focused on the Cyprus issue. If that happens then Turkey should not participate in any future meetings of the EU, of which Greek Cyprus will be a part next year. All in all, this is a matter of choice for Turkey: either to burn our bridges with the EU or continue pushing for membership in the Union. We are standing at a point where we have to clarify our priorities.” 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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