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Turkish Press Review, 04-06-28Turkish 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 morning28.06.2004FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] NATO SUMMIT TO BEGIN IN ISTANBUL TODAYNATO’s 17th summit meeting of heads of state and government is set to begin today in Istanbul with the attendance of representatives of the 26 member states along with associated partner countries. Seven new members who joined the alliance this year – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia – will be participating in a NATO summit for the first time. The summit is expected to begin with addresses by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. During the gathering, the alliance’s military capabilities and defense plans will be discussed along with various other topics. NATO officials predicted that the summit would be a milestone in the alliance’s history. In related news, leaders from countries attending the meeting arrived in Istanbul yesterday. /Turkiye/[02] SEZER HOSTS BANQUET FOR WORLD LEADERS ATTENDING SUMMITPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer and his wife hosted a banquet yesterday at Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace in the honor of leaders who are in the city to attend the NATO summit. Following the reception, the leaders took a “family portrait” photograph. In addition, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul also hosted a reception for the leaders at Ciragan Palace. In his speech, underlining that the Istanbul summit is the first since NATO’s landmark enlargement earlier this year, Gul hailed it as a “historic event.” He stressed that after the enlargement, the alliance was looking towards the future more securely and with greater determination. Pointing to longtime member Turkey’s key place in the alliance, Gul added, “Turkey will continue to contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in its region.” /Hurriyet/[03] BUSH VISITS ANKARA, PROCEEDS TO ISTANBUL TO ATTEND NATO SUMMITUS President George W. Bush arrived in Ankara on Saturday to meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “I appreciate very much the example your country has set on how to be a Muslim country, at the same time a country which embraces democracy and rule of law and freedom,'' he told Erdogan. During his stopover in the capital, Bush also visited Anitkabir to pay his respects to Ataturk and also attended a number of receptions. Bush proceeded to Istanbul yesterday to attend the two-day NATO summit set to begin today. /All papers/[04] SEZER RECEIVES BUSH, DISCUSSES BILATERAL RELATIONS, PKK_ KONGRA-GEL TERRORIST THREATPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday met with visiting US President George W. Bush to discuss a number of issues, including terrorism. During their meeting, Sezer stressed Turkey’s concern that the terrorist group PKK_KONGRA-GEL be eliminated from northern Iraq. “There are still terrorist groups in that region,” he warned. Sezer reportedly reminded Bush of pledges from Washington to counter this threat. For his part, Bush reportedly assured Ankara that the US would cooperate with Turkey in its fight against the terrorist group. He reportedly stated that the US was aware of Turkey’s concerns and pledged to take concrete steps. Sezer said that he hoped bilateral relations between the two countries would further develop, adding that he believed Bush’s visit would yield positive results and contribute to regional peace, stability, security and cooperation. The two leaders also discussed ways to end the international isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC.) Sezer added that he appreciated the US’ support for Turkey’s European Union membership bid. "I believe you ought to be given a date by the EU for your eventual acceptance into the EU," Bush told Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan when the two met. /Milliyet/ *[05] US PRESIDENT BUSH MEETS WITH RELIGIOUS LEADERS IN ISTANBULAfter completing his contacts in Ankara, US President George W. Bush yesterday proceeded to Istanbul, where he met with a group of six religious leaders at the Hilton Hotel. After the meeting, speaking to reporters, Bush said, “It has been my honor to welcome these very important leaders of different faiths to this dialogue. They represent the very best of Turkey, which is a country that is secular in its politics and strong in its faith.” /Turkiye/[06] ZEBARI: “TURKISH SOLDIERS MAY COME TO IRAQ TO PROVIDE TRAINING”Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said yesterday that Turkish troops might come to Iraq to provide military training, adding that the Baghdad administration would welcome such a development. Speaking to reporters at a reception hosted by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul in Istanbul for the NATO summit, Zebari said that he hoped that decisions at the summit would yield benefits for his country. “I think NATO will greatly serve Iraq,” said Zebari. Commenting on the readiness of Iraqi soldiers, he said that the country’s military forces needed training, equipment and financial support. He added that his government would welcome Turkish soldiers coming to train Iraqi troops. /Turkiye/[07] US SENATOR FRIST: “THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT WILL NOT BOW DOWN TO TERRORISTS”Speaking to reporters following US President George W. Bush’s meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday, US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said that Ankara wouldn’t negotiate with the terrorists who last week captured three Turkish workers in Iraq and furthermore had rejected their demands that all Turkish workers cooperating with the coalition be withdrawn. “During the meeting, I saw that the Turkish government will not bow down to terrorist groups,” said Frist, who is also in Turkey. The captors have threatened to behead the workers if their demands are not met. /Milliyet/[08] NATO HEAD SCHEFFER. “I HOPE NATO WILL PLAY A MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN IRAQ”Speaking at a conference on “The Atlantic Alliance at a New Crossroads” in Istanbul, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that the alliance’s summit in Istanbul set to begin today would be a turning point, adding that the gathering would focus on Iraq and Afghanistan. He stated that he hoped NATO would play a more active role in Iraq. Scheffer also reiterated the Iraqi interim government’s request for military training, adding that he believed NATO would give a positive response to this request during the summit. Addressing the question of NATO’s role regarding the Cyprus issue, Scheffer said that the alliance had no role in the matter. /Radikal-Milliyet/[09] POWELL: “WE WILL DO OUR UTMOST TO OVERCOME THE TURKISH HOSTAGE CRISIS”Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President George W. Bush yesterday discussed the plight of three Turkish workers captured in Iraq last week. Bush reportedly called the situation “terrible.” Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is also in Turkey for the Istanbul NATO summit, said that the US would do everything it could to help. “We assured the prime minister that we were doing everything we could to secure their safe release,” Powell told CNN. “And we hope that it will be possible to rescue them, but it's a dangerous situation.” In related news, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said that Ankara wouldn’t make concessions to terrorists. Their captors have threatened to behead the workers unless Turkey withdraws all its firms working with the US-led coalition in Iraq. /Radikal/[10] NATO’S GREATER MIDDLE EASTERN INITIATIVE DUTYThe US has made NATO part of the security and defense dimension of the Greater Middle Eastern Initiative (GME). The new initiative envisaging the establishment of cooperation mechanisms between NATO and Islamic countries to fight terrorism and prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction is called the “Istanbul Cooperation Initiative.” Turkish daily Milliyet has obtained the historic document, which was discussed by the US and the EU and shaped within NATO and is due to be announced following the final evaluations by leaders during the current NATO summit in Istanbul. In the document, the aim of the initiative is stated as expanding security and regional stability in the Middle East, and the areas of cooperation with NATO are listed as follows:Sharing information in the fight against terrorism, * Giving advice on defense reform, civilian-military relations and planning military budgets, * Invitations to maneuvers for the development of military ties, * Invitation to training and maneuvers of the Partnership for Peace (PfP), a program to prepare countries to become a NATO members, * Opportunities to participate in NATO’s peacekeeping operations, * Cooperation to prevent the development and spread of weapons of mass destruction, * Cooperation in border security and stopping human, drug and weapons smuggling, and providing NATO equipment and training towards this end, * Establishing civil emergency plans. In order to avoid negative reactions from Islamic countries, the basic conditions of the project are listed as follows: It will be not exclusive, but comprehensive and open to all related countries in the region, and all steps will be evaluated by NATO individually, * It will be implemented on the basis of willingness. Suggestions will come from the countries themselves. * The contents and levels of cooperation with NATO will be determined in accordance with the special needs and differences of each country. The following changes were made after the insistence of the EU and Turkey to avoid negative reactions from the US: The US wanted to exclude such “problematic” countries as Iran and Syria, and the document emphasized that the project was open to participation from all willing countries, * The inability so far to find a peaceful solution to the Palestinian problem would impede the project’s success, * Preparation of different cooperation mechanisms in accordance with the needs and requests of each country. /Milliyet/ [11] BUSHES VISIT ATATURK’S MAUSOLEUMUS President George W. Bush and his wife Laura Bush visited Ataturk’s mausoleum (Anitkabir) yesterday. The first couple laid a wreath carrying the colors of the US flag at the memorial. After touring the site, the president signed its commemorative guestbook, writing, “I am proud to be here. We share the Turkish people’s respect and admiration for Ataturk. Ataturk established Turkey as a shining example with its democracy based on equal rights through pioneering reforms. Turkey supports freedom and peace in Europe. The US is proud to be Turkey’s friend and ally.” /Milliyet/[12] ATALAY: “ISTANBUL WILL PROVE ITSELF DURING THE NATO SUMMIT”State Minister Besir Atalay yesterday hosted a reception to welcome domestic and foreign journalists in Istanbul to cover the current NATO summit. Speaking at the gathering, Atalay said that the gathering would usher in important breakthroughs which would capture the whole world’s interest. Stressing that a press center equipped with the latest technology had been established to serve the 3,000 journalists in Istanbul, Atalay said that he hoped the city would do the country proud by successfully hosting the summit. /Turkiye/[13] TURKISH UNIVERSITIES RECEIVE NATO SCIENCE PRIZEThree Turkish universities, Bogazici University, Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and Middle East Technical University (ODTU), yesterday received NATO’s Special Science Award for their pioneering research into earthquakes. During a reception yesterday, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer handed out the award. /Star/[14] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS[15] EXPECTATIONS OF THE SUMMITBY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on expectations for the current NATO summit in Istanbul. A summary of her column is as follows: “With the collapse of the Berlin Wall 15 years ago, NATO, originally established to protect Europe against Soviet expansion, gained a new identity in accordance with the needs of the new era, and the current NATO summit in Istanbul is important in terms of defining this identity. However, not only has this new identity diversified NATO’s military and political duties, but it also expects more contribution from its members. As the Afghanistan experience shows, the organization has both military and political duties to fight terrorism, and this situation requires more military and civilian support and more material and monetary contributions from member states. Following the Cold War, military reforms were implemented by a great many countries. At this point, how to meet NATO’s needs became a problem. Everybody is expecting the contributions of other countries in order to meet NATO’s needs, especially new members, and also Turkey. Analysts I spoke with in Hungary last week told me, ‘We’re in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and Cyprus. This responsibility is great, even according to our own criteria, and our publics are opposed to this situation.’ US President George W. Bush arrived in Turkey over the weekend thronged by a delegation of 500, including many Secret Service agents. They have high- powered weapons, and Bush’s greatest expectation of this summit is to overcome the US’ isolation from the previous period and to signal that trans-Atlantic relations have been repaired. Likewise, following last week’s summit in Ireland with European Union leaders, Bush said, ‘We reached consensus on one issue, that a democratic and peaceful Iraq which maintains its territorial integrity will serve all our interests,’ hoping to show that there was a new era of consensus between Europe and the US on Iraq. Certain American diplomats made statements to journalists who travelled alongside Bush from Ireland to Turkey which strengthened this message. For example, they emphasized that the outcome of the summit in Ireland meant support for an international force to help ensure security for Iraqis. This is what Bush expects from the NATO summit in Istanbul. Washington also expects NATO’s intervention in Iraq. However, officials I spoke to in Brussels said the EU was together with Poland in NATO and that it could contribute to the training of Iraqi soldiers in another country outside Iraq. In spite of everything, relations between the US and the EU are more positive than a year ago. Both have learned lessons from their past. Initiatives to put US-EU ties on a firmer basis were supported during the Ireland summit. Meanwhile, children living on the streets of Istanbul were sent away from the summit venue. I hope these children won’t be abandoned to their own fates, and necessary steps will be taken to bring them back into the community.” 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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