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Turkish Press Review, 04-01-02Turkish 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 morning02.01.2004FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN: “THE GOVERNMENT AND GENERAL STAFF ARE WORKING IN HARMONY”In remarks ushering in the New Year, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday expressed his conviction that there will be a settlement on Cyprus by May 1, and that Turkey will receive a date to start its European Union accession talks at December’s EU summit. Welcoming 2004 together with children at an orphanage in the Black Sea town of Karabuk, Erdogan said that officials from the Foreign Ministry and General Staff were working together to prepare a new plan on Cyprus. Commenting on recent allegations that there was discord between the government and the military on the issue, Erdogan stated that there was complete harmony between the government and “its military” over Cyprus policy. “No one should try to put themselves between the government and its army and stir up agitation,” said the premier. Stressing that he expected a new government would soon be established in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and talks on the island’s future would resume, Erdogan said, “We hope that by May 1 [when Greek Cyprus is to join the EU], a just and lasting settlement will be reached for the Cyprus issue.” Pointing to the recent EU harmonization reforms enacted by Turkey, Erdogan said that the government was resolved to fully implement these reforms and then, Ankara expected to get a date at the EU summit this December to begin its Union accession talks. /All Papers/[02] ERDOGAN: “WE WANT TO MEDIATE BETWEEN ISRAEL AND SYRIA”Appearing on Israeli television yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey wanted to act as mediator between longtime Middle East foes Israel and Syria. “We hope to be a mediator between Damascus and Jerusalem,” he said. He told how in 1948 Turkey had been the first Muslim country to recognize Israel, adding that the two nations still enjoyed a close relationship. He further urged strengthened intelligence cooperation between the two. /Aksam/[03] TRNC OFFICIALS CONTINUE EFFORTS TO FORM NEW GOVERNMENTFollowing last month’s elections in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Turkish Cypriot party leaders are continuing their efforts to form a new government. At a meeting this afternoon, the National Unity Party (UBP) is expected to evaluate an offer from Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Mehmet Ali Talat to form a coalition government. Furthermore, the 50 deputies of the TRNC Parliament will convene today for the second time to elect new members of the Chairmanship Council. In Parliament, the CTP is represented by 19 deputies, the UBP by 18, the Democratic Party (DP) by seven, and the Peace and Democracy Movement (BDP) by six. /Turkiye/[04] VERHEUGEN CRITICIZES GERMAN CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS’ OPPOSITION TO TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIPEuropean Union Commissioner Guenter Verheugen over the weekend told Berlin’s Inforadio that discussions of Turkey’s EU candidate status were pointless and criticized the opposition to Ankara’s EU bid within Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). “Turkey has earned its candidate status,” said Verheugen. “This decision was made with the support of countries where Christian Democrats are in power, which is why questioning Turkey’s status is pointless. Turkey will of course join the ranks of the EU if Ankara fulfils the Copenhagen criteria completely.” Verhuegen also called on main German opposition parties the CDU and the Christian Social Union (CSU), which have cited cultural and religious differences in their opposition to Turkey’s bid, not to exploit this issue for the sake of domestic politics. /Hurriyet/[05] US STATE DEPT: “TURKEY RESCUED 200 VICTIMS OF SLAVERY IN 2004”In a guest editorial entitled “Slavery in 2004” in yesterday’s Washington Post, John R. Miller, the director of the US State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, stated that the persistence of slavery in many forms, particularly sex and forced labor, may shock many in 2004 but that the threat of economic penalties had started to play a crucial role in countries’ fight against human trafficking. He reported that his office had seen more progress in some countries over three key months of 2003 than in the previous two years, and noted that Turkey had set up and implemented new screening procedures that exposed 200 victims of slavery. /Hurriyet/[06] SYRIAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT TURKEYSyrian President Bashar al-Assad is due to pay an official visit to Turkey next week. Al-Assad is expected to meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and other Turkish officials to discuss recent developments in the region. He is also set to sign a number of bilateral agreements and meet with business circles. /Hurriyet/[07] TOBB HEAD: “TURKEY CAN GET A DATE FROM THE EU THIS YEAR TO BEGIN ITS ACCESSION TALKS”Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TOBB) Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu said yesterday that he believed Ankara would get a date from the European Union this December to begin its accession talks, adding that Turkey should never waver from its EU bid. “We should do our best to get a date,” he said, adding, however that not getting one would not mean the end of the world. He said that since Turkey was not yet included in the EU’s decision-making mechanisms, it was unable to prevent certain decisions against its interests, but that in the future this should change. /Aksam/[08] ECEVIT: “THE NSC SHOULD MEET TO DISCUSS THE CYPRUS ISSUE WITH DENKTAS”Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Bulent Ecevit said that the Cyprus issue should be discussed by Ankara’s National Security Council (NSC) with the participation of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas. Commenting on a recent Foreign Ministry Cyprus plan, Ecevit disapprovingly referred to its reported provision to cut the number of Turkish soldiers on Cyprus from 30, 000 to 6,000. The senior statesman and former premier, who originally sent Turkish soldiers to Cyprus in 1974 for the Cyprus Peace Operation, called the island a national cause. Ecevit recently announced that he would resign from the DSP helm after local elections this spring. /Aksam/ [09] FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS[10] MY WISHES FOR 2004 BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on her wishes for the New Year. A summary of her column is as follows:“The world ushered in the New Year on the streets and in the mosques and squares without letting its enthusiasm being dampened by the threat of terrorist attacks. This shows its power to cope. When I look at the problems awaiting solutions in both Turkey and the rest of the world, I can make optimistic wishes as follows: * I hope the Cyprus problem will be solved this year. The Cyprus problem concerns not only the future of a group of Mediterranean people, but also the security of a broader system of interests. Therefore a solution would trigger many positive developments, while stubborn resistance to a solution will bring only pressure and isolation. The resolve to find a solution on the island expressed during a meeting of top Foreign Ministry ambassadors can’t be ignored. I hope the politicians in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will attach more importance to this fact than to their personal ambitions and so will establish a government of consensus and unity. * My second wish is that Turkish-Greek relations will settle into a smoother period. * My greatest wish is our starting membership negotiations with the European Union. Besides many other reasons, I want it for security’s sake as well. NATO will open its door to new members during its Istanbul meeting in June. These newcomers are also new members of the EU. I don’t know what will happen then to Turkey’s feeling of exclusion, which it feels even now. * A difficult future is awaiting Iraq. The recent Iraqi Kurdish initiative for a federation-style government carries the risk of civil war. I hope Iraq won’t see new developments which will sow new instabilities. * I hope the persistent tension between Israel and Syria will be settled amicably, Palestine will gain its independence and Israel will have the right to live in security. * I hope the problem of Upper Karabagh between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be solved this year. I also wish my readers a New Year full of goodness.” [11] THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN CYPRUS BY HASAN PULUR (AKSAM)Columnist Hasan Pulur comments on the Annan plan for Cyprus. A summary of his column is as follows:“It appears that the Cyprus plan of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will be negotiated on and the resulting solution be based on this plan, because the government has neither the power nor the will to resist those who want to impose it on us. Even as the United States urges Turkey to discuss the plan, Europe also says that Turkey won’t be able to see Europe even with binoculars if a solution isn’t reached, and if we consider the ‘domestic collaborators,’ the government has no choice. Well, what does the Annan plan say to draw so much reaction? The charges against it can be summarized as follows: ‘Turkish sovereignty and equality will be eliminated, 100,000 Turks will lose their homes, their property will be taken away, 1_5 of their land will be given away, and 52 villages and agricultural land with easy access to water and water resources will be handed over to the Greeks.’ This is all true. There are terribly unfair provisions in the plan. One example: Page 55, Article 6, section 6: ‘No limit on residence can be an obstacle to freedom of movement. This right also includes the right to spend a maximum of 3 days and nights within a one-week period in their immovable property.’ What does this mean? Let’s see how those who know about Byzantine maneuvers solve this. There are about 65,000 Cypriot Turks who left their properties to Greeks in the south and immigrated to the north. The Turkish immigrants from the south settled in places which Greeks abandoned. What will happen now? If the ‘Annan plan’ goes through, the Greeks who fled from the north to the south will return to the north, that is, to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Under this plan they will stay at most three days and nights in their immovable property. What will happen if these three days are up and the Greeks refuse to go? You can guess what will happen. You’ll say that the Turks should also go and settle in their houses in the south. But they can’t. Even if they can go there, they can’t find their immovable property because 90 percent of Turkish houses in the southern part of the island were destroyed by the Greeks. If the Annan plan is to be discussed, I recommend that the negotiators read the book ‘The Annan Plan and Lie Detectors’ by Fuat Veziroglu, a Cypriot jurist, politician, statesman and author. It’s short but quite powerful. What the Cypriots will live through can be explained and understood only by the Cypriots themselves.” 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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