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Turkish Press Review, 03-12-03
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
03.12.2003
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN CALLS ON INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM
[02] GUL: “TURKEY WILL SUPPORT GEORGIA IN ITS NEW ERA”
[03] AL QAEDA CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ISTANBUL ATTACKS
[04] BAYKAL: “TURKEY HASN’T PROPERLY NAMED TERRORISM”
[05] TURKEY PAYS LOIZIDOU COMPENSATION
[06] TURKEY, GREECE SIGN PACT TO END DOUBLE TAXATION
[07] TUZMEN RECEIVES UKRAINIAN PM YANUKOVICH
[08] VERHEUGEN: “THE EU WILL RECOGNIZE TRNC ELECTIONS IN CASE OF AN OPPOSITION VICTORY”
[09] ANAP LEADER OZDEMIR ANNOUNCES HE WILL STEP DOWN
[10] CB HEAD: “NOTHING STANDS IN THE WAY OF OUR HITTING THIS YEAR’S 20% INFLATION TARGET”
[11] GALATASARAY DEFEATS JUVENTUS, 2-0
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[13] A TALE OF THEFT BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)
[01] ERDOGAN CALLS ON INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN THE FIGHT AGAINST
TERRORISM
Terrorists who think that they can sway people by setting off bombs will
soon learn that they are mistaken, said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
yesterday. Speaking at the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP)
parliamentary group meeting, Erdogan called on the entire world to
cooperate in fighting terrorism and to keep their pledges on the issue.
Reiterating that terrorism couldn’t be linked to any religion, the premier
said, “Terrorists should know that nothing can cast a pall over our
nation’s integrity and unity.” /Milliyet/
[02] GUL: “TURKEY WILL SUPPORT GEORGIA IN ITS NEW ERA”
Following the turmoil after Georgia’s elections last month, which led to
the resignation of its president and the rise of an interim government,
Turkey has begun contacts with the country’s new administration. Georgian
Ambassador to Turkey Tariel Lebanidze yesterday paid a visit to Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul. Stressing that Georgia had entered a new era, Gul
said that Turkey expected that the country would soon be able to establish
stability. Remarking that Turkey and Georgia share the same geography, Gul
stated that Turkey would do all it could to extend financial and moral
support to its neighbor. /Turkiye/
[03] AL QAEDA CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ISTANBUL ATTACKS
In a statement sent yesterday to British-based El Mecelle magazine, Ebu
Muhammed El-Eblec, an al Qaeda so-called commander for attacks, claimed
that the group had carried out the recent deadly terrorist attacks in
Istanbul. El-Eblec also warned of future attacks. /Turkiye/
[04] BAYKAL: “TURKEY HASN’T PROPERLY NAMED TERRORISM”
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal
yesterday lashed out at the government, charging that it had avoided
revealing the links of the terrorists who carried out the recent attacks in
Istanbul to Turkish Hezbollah, referring to a Sunni terrorist group
unrelated to the Lebanon group sharing the same name. Speaking to his
party’s parliamentary group meeting, Baykal said that using religion for
political ends had a long history in Turkey, adding the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) had partaken of this tradition and should take a
clear stand in the current period. “The government has still not revealed
the origins of the terrorist attacks and their main target,” said Baykal.
“An official name for the terrorism that we must fight is still lacking.
The government’s approach remains unclear.” /Cumhuriyet/
[05] TURKEY PAYS LOIZIDOU COMPENSATION
Following a longstanding dispute over a controversial verdict of the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Turkey yesterday paid 1.12 million
euros as compensation to Titina Loizidou, a Greek Cypriot citizen. Ankara
has long insisted it should not be held responsible for property claims on
Cyprus because the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is an
independent state. Loizidou is one of hundreds of Greek Cypriot applicants
to the ECHR who sued Turkey on the grounds that the Turkish military
presence on the north of the island meant denial of access to their
property and thus loss of income. In related news, TRNC President Rauf
Denktas charged that the ruling was politically motivated. “The Republic of
Turkey was obliged to pay the compensation in order to save the honor of
the court,” said Denktas. /Hurriyet/
[06] TURKEY, GREECE SIGN PACT TO END DOUBLE TAXATION
Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan and Greek Economy and Finance Minister
Nikolaos Christodoulakis yesterday signed a pact on behalf of their
respective countries to end the practice of double taxation.
Christodoulakis was later received by State Minister for the Economy Ali
Babacan to discuss a number of issues, including last month’s Istanbul
terrorist attacks. Speaking afterwards, Babacan said that he believed the
attacks would have no direct impact on foreign investment in Turkey.
Touching on the nation’s economic program, Babacan pledged that the
government would continue to adhere to the program. He added that trade
ties between Turkey and Greece would be strengthened. Later,
Christodoulakis was received by State Minister for the Economy Kursat
Tuzmen. During their talks, Tuzmen said that the taxation pact would help
boost the two countries’ bilateral trade volume, adding that mutual
investments should also be increased. /Turkiye/
[07] TUZMEN RECEIVES UKRAINIAN PM YANUKOVICH
State Minister Kursat Tuzmen yesterday received Ukrainian Prime Minister
Victor Yanukovich. During their talks, Tuzmen said that he hoped to see the
nation’s bilateral trade volume rise to some $3 billion annually. “Some
products needed by Turkey are in Ukraine, and some that Ukraine needs are
in Turkey,” he stated. “So we should boost trade ties.” /Turkiye/
[08] VERHEUGEN: “THE EU WILL RECOGNIZE TRNC ELECTIONS IN CASE OF AN
OPPOSITION VICTORY”
Guenter Verheugen, the European Union commissioner for enlargement, warned
yesterday that Turkey would suffer both economically and politically if a
resolution is not reached on Cyprus. Verheugen also said that he hoped
opposition parties would win in the Dec. 14 general elections set for the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), adding that the EU would
recognize the TRNC’s election results only if the opposition emerges
victorious. /Milliyet/
[09] ANAP LEADER OZDEMIR ANNOUNCES HE WILL STEP DOWN
Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Ali Talip Ozdemir announced yesterday that
at its convention scheduled for Dec. 13-14, he would not stand for
reelection to the party helm. Ozdemir was elected the party’s chairman last
year when former ANAP leader Mesut Yilmaz resigned from his post after its
failure in general elections. /Cumhuriyet/
[10] CB HEAD: “NOTHING STANDS IN THE WAY OF OUR HITTING THIS YEAR’S 20%
INFLATION TARGET”
Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti yesterday briefed reporters on
the CB’s just-released Monetary Policy Report. Serdengecti said that
nothing stood in the way of Turkey fulfilling this year’s 20% inflation
goal, not even excess demand. Serdengecti also touted the nation’s rising
exports, adding that if this positive trend continues, then companies’
production capacity would also increase, which would in turn boost
investments. /Aksam/
[11] GALATASARAY DEFEATS JUVENTUS, 2-0
In a match last night in UEFA Champions League Group D, Turkish side
Galatasaray defeated Italian team Juventus through two goals by Hakan Sukur
in the 47th minute and in extra time. Due to the last month’s terrorist
attacks, UEFA decided to relocate the football match from Istanbul to
Dortmund, Germany. Galatasaray is set next week to play against Spain’s
Real Sociedad. /All papers/
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[13] A TALE OF THEFT BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)
Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on the Cyprus issue. A summary of her column
is as follows:
“When I spoke with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President
Rauf Denktas yesterday, he told of the day in 1964 when the decision came
down recognizing the Greek Cypriots as the official representative of the
state. For Denktas, it was on that day that the Greek Cypriots stole
Cyprus. When Denktas speaks about Cyprus, he always discusses the history
of the problem, because he considers the Cyprus issue a tale of theft which
the world refuses to see. Greek Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos
recently stated, ‘Even if Denktas had signed Annan’s plan at the Hague, I
wouldn’t have signed it,’ and also former Greek Cypriot President Glafcos
Clerides recently confessed that his nation had reached its European Union
membership goal ‘without making concessions in negotiations and by laying
the blame for their failure on the Turkish side.’ These are ‘harbingers of
fate’ for Denktas, who was the target of large protests this time last year
due to his opposition to Annan’s plan for the island.
Obviously the Cyprus issue requires a new way of doing things. However,
people’s minds are now more confused than they were last year. Even these
confessions seem to have given pause to those seeking a quick solution.
Cyprus is preparing for new negotiations after the Dec. 14 elections. It
seems that Denktas will again sit at the negotiating table at that time, by
seeing himself proven right with the confessions of Greek Cypriot leaders,
and believing that Cyprus has become a trump card in Turkey’s European
Union membership bid. Indeed, solution of the Cyprus issue is now a trump
card for everybody. For example, it’s an important trump card for Greece to
solve its problems with Turkey as it pleases, for Cyprus’ EU membership and
for Turkey’s EU membership bid. Even those who favor solution say, ‘Europe
wants neither Turkey, nor the Turks. In the end, this will end up dividing
the island.’ The coming general elections will be full of surprises.
However, there is no surprise in the timetable waiting for Cyprus.
Everything depends on Europe’s signals to Turkey.”
ARCHIVE
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