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Turkish Press Review, 04-04-30Turkish 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 morning30.04.2004FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] MONGOLIAN PRESIDENT VISITS TURKEYMongolian President Natsagiyn Bagabandi yesterday arrived in Ankara to pay an official visit at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Necdet Sezer. After their meeting, the two leaders said that despite the geographical distance separating their countries, they had a historical friendship which Bagabandi’s visit would only enhance. In the evening, Sezer hosted a banquet in the honor of the Mongolian leader and his wife. /Cumhuriyet/[02] DE SOTO PAYS FAREWELL VISITS TO ERDOGAN, GULSpecial UN Cyprus Envoy Alvaro de Soto yesterday arrived in Ankara to pay a farewell visit to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. During their meeting, Erdogan praised de Soto’s intense efforts in recent months for a Cyprus resolution. The envoy said that he would prepare an objective report on the recent Cyprus referendums and soon present it to the UN, adding that Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos now recognized that they had missed a historic opportunity in turning down the UN plan. When de Soto asked Erdogan how Ankara would react to another referendum on the plan, Erdogan reportedly said that his government didn’t favor one. The premier stated that Greek Cyprus would join the ranks of the EU on Sunday representing the whole island, adding that he Turkish Cypriots’ acceptance of the UN plan should be rewarded. Later, de Soto paid a farewell visit to Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. /Star/[03] ERDOGAN TO RECEIVE DELEGATION OF RECTORSPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set today to receive Professor Ayhan Alkis, chair of the Interuniversity Council, accompanied by a delegation of rectors. In addition, the Rectors Committee is expected to convene on Sunday to discuss work on the Board of Higher Education (YOK) bill. /Turkiye/[04] ATHENS PREPARES SCHEDULE FOR ERDOGAN’S VISIT NEXT WEEKAthens is preparing a schedule for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Greece set to begin next Thursday, May 6, at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Kostas Karamanlis. Erdogan’s three-day visit will be the first of a Turkish premier in over a decade. Erdogan, accompanied by a group of businessmen and journalists, is also scheduled to visit Gumulcine, a Greek town in western Thrace near Turkey’s border, and meet with Turkish community leaders there on the last day of his visit. At a press conference yesterday, Greek government spokesman Teodoros Rusopulos stated that his government was pleased to host the Turkish premier. Pointing to recent developments in Turkish-Greek relations, Rusopulos said, “Erdogan has the right to visit his people in western Thrace. This is a confirmation that we’ve left behind our concerns and lack of trust, and it also shows the level of our democracy.” /Turkiye/[05] CHIRAC: “TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP MAY TAKE A LONG TIME”At a press conference yesterday, French President Jacques Chirac expressed support for Turkey’s European Union membership in the long term. Commenting on the EU enlargement process, Chirac claimed that for the time being Turkey was not ready to join the EU ranks, but added that after full implementation of EU reforms its membership might be possible. Highlighting the EU Commission report on Turkey due this October, Chirac said, “There are two possibilities: The commission may say that it needs some more time to begin accession talks, or else that Ankara has implemented the criteria and is ready to begin negotiations.” He stated that even when Turkey begins its negotiations, they may take a long time, “in the perspective of 10 to 15 years,” and added that Turkey’s future lay in Europe. In response to a question, Chirac said that recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide would not be a precondition for Turkey’s membership. “This issue concerns only the two states, Turkey and Armenia,” said the French leader. Stating that he was satisfied with recent positive developments between Ankara and Yerevan, Chirac added, “Bilateral relations should not be evaluated only through the lens of the past.” /Hurriyet/[06] EUROPEAN COUNCIL MOVES TO EASE TRNC’S ISOLATIONThe European Council yesterday adopted legislation designed to ease the isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The legislation, due to take effect on Sunday, would facilitate the sale of TRNC goods and the movement of persons across the Cypriot Green Line as well as that of Turkish Cypriots within the European Union. In related news, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that under the legislation, the European Union should establish representation within the TRNC. Asked whether another referendum would be held on the island, Gul said that doing so would be difficult. /Aksam/[07] TALAT CALLS EUROPEAN COUNCIL LEGISLATION “UNSATISFACTORY”Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday arrived in Ankara and met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the historic Cyprus referendums and subsequent developments, such as legislation just adopted by the European Commission to ease the TRNC’s isolation. Speaking afterwards, Talat said that the legislation was unsatisfactory and should not be passed in its current form. For his part, Erdogan stressed the importance of cooperation between Ankara and the TRNC. Later, Talat met with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. In related news, Talat is expected to travel to Washington next week to meet with US Secretary of State Colin Powell. /Cumhuriyet/[08] EUROPEAN COMMISSION: “WHILE PREPARING TURKEY’S PROGRESS REPORT, WE WILL CONSIDER CONCRETE DEVELOPMENTS THERE”Speaking at a press conference yesterday, European Commission Spokesman Reijo Kemppinen said that the commission was now preparing its fall progress report on Turkey, adding that the report wouldn’t be affected by negative statements by politicians, perhaps alluding to French President Jacques Chirac’s remarks yesterday that Ankara couldn’t join the EU in the short term. “While preparing the report, we will consider concrete developments in Turkey,” added Kemppinen. In related news, Jacques Delors, former European Commission chairman, said that Turkey, like all other EU candidates, should fulfill the Copenhagen criteria in order to join the Union. /Aksam/[09] NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL SCHEFFER VISITS ISTANBULNATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is currently paying a visit to Istanbul to lay the groundwork for the NATO summit there set for June. Addressing students at Galatasaray University, Scheffer called Istanbul a bridge between two continents. Pointing to Turkey’s close relations with the Balkan, Caucasus, Mediterranean, Middle East and Central Asian regions, the secretary-general said that Ankara was an important ally, adding that its success was closely tied to NATO’s. “As a secular, democratic state, Turkey can play an important role in the region known by some as the ‘Greater Middle East’,” he added. Scheffer further stressed that even as seven new members join NATO, the values of the alliance should be preserved. /Turkiye/[10] FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS[11] CYPRUS AND NATIONALISM BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)Columnist Taha Akyol comments on the Cyprus issue and what true nationalism means. A summary of his column is as follows:“Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan this January in Davos. During the meeting, he asked Annan to start the peace process, which amounted to his accepting Annan’s plan as the basis for negotiations. Erdogan also agreed that Annan would fill in the blanks as stipulated during the four-power meetings in New York, and the timetable for referendums was accepted. However, the government was blasted for accepting the fill-in-the-blanks condition, with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer saying that this wasn’t among Ankara’s National Security Council (NSC) resolutions. Starting the process and giving Annan this authority of course meant running a risk. So was this a gamble on the government’s part? In a word, no. Both the government and Foreign Ministry knew what Annan was being careful about. Ankara spoke with powers which could affect the UN, mainly Washington and the European Union. Likewise, changes in Annan’s plan turned out to favor Turkey more. At this point, Ankara calculated that the risk could be taken and decided to go with it. It did something good and in the referendums, Turkish Cypriots approved the UN plan while the Greeks rejected it. Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok stated that we had acquired a superior diplomatic standing. Even Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas said that new horizons had been opened. Cracks have started to appear in the TRNC embargo. The EU Council will open these cracks more, enabling the TRNC to breathe economically, and relations will be able to be established. When the UN Security Council softens its 1983 resolution barring recognition of the TRNC, it will relax even more. If the steps which started in Davos hadn’t been made and risks hadn’t been taken, we wouldn’t be at this advantageous situation today. Which is the real nationalism? This one, which brought benefits and diplomatic superiority for Turkey and the TRNC, or the usual irrational ‘heroism’ that tried to block this path? There were disappointing aspects to Annan’s plan as well, and taking the road on purpose was a concession. Now Turkey has succeeded in winning ‘diplomatic superiority’ in Cyprus by taking both risks and limited concessions. The road hasn’t ended yet. We should continue our mobilization so as to score even great successes.” [12] A WEAK EU RESPONSE BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on the EU’s response to the recent referendums on Cyprus. A summary of her column is as follows:“The European Union’s response to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’s (TRNC) good will was a weak one. Europe is unable to take quick steps on legal matters. There haven’t been many changes in the regulations prepared last April, when Greek Cyprus was put on track for full accession. The island’s Green Line is not the EU’s border, but the Greek side has to establish checkpoints for the movement of persons and products to the region. So the Green Line has effectively become an EU border, de facto though not de jure. Trade will be made across the Greek side, but the EU Commission has the authority to arrange permits for trade to the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Trade or similar groups. In the former treaty, the authority to arrange permits was given to the central government, meaning the Greek administration. Another article grants the EU Commission the right to make changes but stipulates that ‘the assent of the [Greek] Cypriot Republic’ is needed. This Cypriot administration will have the right to make changes in arrangements on the Green Line, of course by informing the commission. If there is no answer within one month, then it will be able to put these changes into force. Actually the embargo in the TRNC has yet to be eased. The TRNC will be able to conduct trade with the EU over the Greek Cypriot part. The positive point in the regulation is the movement of persons. Tourists visiting the southern part will also be able to visit Northern Cyprus. This could boost tourism. And tourists in the North will also be able to visit the southern part if they have a Schengen visa. Europe is again complaining about legal difficulties. We hear words like ‘we give full political support.’ But when political support is unable to influence the legal basis, it can do little.” 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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