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Turkish Press Review, 04-04-15

Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: 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 morning

15.04.2004

FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...

CONTENTS

  • [01] SEZER: “DISCUSSION OF CYPRUS PLAN IS USEFUL, BUT PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE HURTFUL”
  • [02] GUL: “WE’RE AGAINST POSTPONING THE CYPRUS REFERENDUMS”
  • [03] GREECE JOINS ANKARA IN OPPOSING REFERENDUM POSTPONEMENT
  • [04] TALAT: “POSTPONEMENT IS POSSIBLE ONLY IF THE EU SUSPENDS GREEK CYPRUS’ ACCESSION”
  • [05] TURKISH CYPRIOTS RALLY IN FAVOR OF UN PLAN
  • [06] EP COMMISSION VOTES IN FAVOR OF CYPRUS PLAN
  • [07] VERHEUGEN SUCCESSOR JANEZ POTOCNIK: “THERE’S NO REASON TO OPPOSE TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BID”
  • [08] ALIYEV ADDRESSES TURKISH PARLIAMENT
  • [09] ERDOGAN RETURNS FROM JAPAN
  • [10] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
  • [11] LISTENING TO DENKTAS BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)

  • [01] SEZER: “DISCUSSION OF CYPRUS PLAN IS USEFUL, BUT PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE HURTFUL”

    Speaking at the Military Academy in Istanbul yesterday, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said that public discussion of the Cyprus plan was useful but that he was sorry to see the deepening of differences and hurtful statements in such forums. Pointing to the importance of including derogations for Turkish Cyprus in the European Union’s primary law, Sezer called this a test of the EU’s sincerity. Stressing that the United Nations’ Cyprus plan still contained certain unsatisfactory points for the Turkish side, the president said, “We should seriously examine whether in the future its pluses for the Turkish side could be eroded or lost completely.” In addition, Sezer said that Turkey could not be included in the countries of the US’ Greater Middle East Project. “Turkey is a secular country and remarks that we’re an ‘Islamic Republic’ or ‘Moderate Islam’ are both inappropriate and unacceptable,” said the president, alluding to recent comments by US Secretary of State Colin Powell, later hastily withdrawn. /Milliyet/

    [02] GUL: “WE’RE AGAINST POSTPONING THE CYPRUS REFERENDUMS”

    Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday firmly rebuffed efforts to put off the April 24-scheduled referendums on the Cyprus plan. Commenting on UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recent statement that if all sides request it, the referendums could be held after May 1 (when Greek Cyprus is set to join the European Union), Gul said that the votes should be carried out as scheduled. “Holding referendums after May 1 would mean starting again from square one,” he warned. “We won’t accept this.” In related news, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas is set to address the Parliament in Ankara today. While Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc and Gul are expected to attend the session to hear Denktas’s speech, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and some other Cabinet ministers will be absent due to prior engagements. In related news, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener and State Minister Ali Babacan are set today to attend a European Union’s donors meeting in Brussels where financial aid for a United Cyprus will be discussed. /Turkiye/

    [03] GREECE JOINS ANKARA IN OPPOSING REFERENDUM POSTPONEMENT

    Greece Foreign Ministry spokesman George Kumucakos said yesterday that Athens had no intention of seeking postponement of referendums set for April 24 on Cyprus. Prime Minister Costas Simitis also said that the government would publicly announce its stance on the matter today. On the other hand, Greek Cyprus’ Communist AKEL party, the government’s senior coalition partner, yesterday voted internally in favor of a postponement, and then conveyed this message to US Secretary of State Colin Powell. /Turkiye/

    [04] TALAT: “POSTPONEMENT IS POSSIBLE ONLY IF THE EU SUSPENDS GREEK CYPRUS’ ACCESSION”

    Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat, who is currently in Brussels to attend a session of the European Parliament, yesterday urged the European Union to pressure Greek Cypriots to accept the UN Cyprus plan at referendums set for April 24. Addressing the EP, Talat said that the EU could work in league with Ankara in order to persuade both Turkish and Greek Cypriots to accept the UN Cyprus plan in the island-wide referendums. Talat further reiterated his rejection of calls to postpone the referendums, adding that doing so would be possible only if the European Union decides to suspend Greek Cyprus’s membership, currently scheduled to begin officially on May 1. The premier also criticized TRNC President Rauf Denktas’s opposition to the UN plan, adding that most Turkish Cypriots didn’t share his views and that his post was purely symbolic. /Aksam/

    [05] TURKISH CYPRIOTS RALLY IN FAVOR OF UN PLAN

    Tens of thousands of Turkish Cypriots yesterday gathered in Inonu Square in Nicosia, capital of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), in support of the UN plan for the island. The demonstration, organized by a host of political parties, trade unions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also urged that referendums on the plan be held on April 24 as scheduled. Some 40,000, or one-fifth of the TRNC's population, are estimated to have attended the rally. /Milliyet/

    [06] EP COMMISSION VOTES IN FAVOR OF CYPRUS PLAN

    The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission yesterday passed an 11- article bill expressing support for the United Nations Cyprus plan. The bill, which hails the plan as “a historic compromise,” was prepared by European Parliamentarian Jacques Poos and is expected to be discussed by the full EP on Monday. In related news, Special UN Cyprus Envoy Alvaro de Soto said that Secretary-General Kofi Annan was disappointed with Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos’s opposition to the plan. /Turkiye/

    [07] VERHEUGEN SUCCESSOR JANEZ POTOCNIK: “THERE’S NO REASON TO OPPOSE TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BID”

    Janez Potocnik, who next month is set to succeed European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen, said yesterday that he saw no reason to oppose Ankara’s EU membership bid. “I’m sure that Muslims will embrace the EU’s norms and democratic principles,” he said, adding that Turkey could also play a key role in bridging the EU and the Islamic world. /Aksam/

    [08] ALIYEV ADDRESSES TURKISH PARLIAMENT

    The good health of friendly relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan is strengthening with each passing day, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told the Turkish Parliament yesterday. Aliyev, who is currently on an official visit to Turkey, also stressed that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project would bolster ties between Baku and Ankara. “The project will usher in stability, confidence and power in our region,” Aliyev said. The Azerbaijani leader later met with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and former President Suleyman Demirel. /Hurriyet/

    [09] ERDOGAN RETURNS FROM JAPAN

    On the last day of his visit to Japan, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday toured a Toyota factory in Aichi. Afterwards, Erdogan proceeded to Osaka via a special high-speed train and meet with the city’s mayor, Junichi Seki. Before returning to Turkey, Erdogan had dinner on a boat and drank tea in a traditional Japanese ceremony. /Sabah/

    [10] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...

    [11] LISTENING TO DENKTAS BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)

    Columnist Taha Akyol comments on Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denkas’ forthcoming address to Parliament. A summary of his column is as follows:

    “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denkas is due to address our Parliament today. It would have been an unforgivable error to reject his request to speak there. Actually I consider Denktas’s stance mistaken but I also know that he’s a hero. Denktas has devoted his entire life to the Turkish Cypriots. He didn’t lose his morale when facing disasters and now he can’t be pleased with the prospect of making peace with ‘the enemy.’ This is understandable. Of course Denktas speaks with imperial generosity but when generosity and reason clash, thereason should win out. In a statement dated April 1, he said, ‘The system of guarantorship concerns our security. The United Nations altered a point which it put in a document that it had previously accepted. Six thousand Turkish soldiers were supposed to stay here, but now they say they will review this once every three years. After a couple of years of review, the soldiers will surely be made to leave and all Turkey’s ties with our island will end.’ Concerning the positive aspects of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s plan, Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok said this week, ‘We can see that Turkey’s guarantorship has been strengthened in the latest plan. If we want to stay on the island, we would have the right to keep our soldiers on Cyprus. Under the plan, the Turkish Cypriot nation will live in an atmosphere of peace maintained by the police, the UN peacekeeping force and the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK].’

    Of course the plan carries negative sides and risks as well, which Ozkok also enumerated. Painting everything as dark in order to smear the plan before the referendum makes Denktas appear desperate. We can understand Denktas. His psychology comes from his heroic struggle of past years. When Denktas speaks to the Parliament today, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won’t be in the audience. This is no surprise because this week Denktas charged that Erdogan had been ‘deceived’ on Cyprus. However, Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputies should go to the Parliament and listen to him with respect, and Denktas should speak fluently and carefully, without dispelling people’s respect for him. For history now wants a solution.”

    ARCHIVE

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