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Turkish Press Review, 04-08-12
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
12.08.2004
ERDOGAN, GEORGIAN PM STRESS
IMPORTANCE OF BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN PIPELINE
TRAIN ACCIDENT KILLS 6,
INJURES 85 NEAR ISTANBUL
WOLFOWITZ: “TURKEY IS A
STRONG ALLY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM”
DYP LEADER CRITICIZES
GOVERNMENT, SAYING REDUCING INFLATION AND
MEETING SURPLUS TARGET AREN’T ENOUGH TO BOOST
ECONOMY
IMF REPORT PRAISES TURKEY’S
MACROECONOMIC CONDITIONS, BUT WARNS OF HIGH
CURRENT ACCOUNTS DEFICIT
NATO COMPONENT COMMAND AIR
HEADQUARTERS ACTIVATED IN IZMIR
UNESCO URGES MEASURES TO
PROTECT NATURE IN ISTANBUL
MODERATE QUAKE INJURES 11
IN ELAZIG
FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE
COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
WHILE TERRORISM IS ON THE
RISE
BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN, GEORGIAN PM STRESS
IMPORTANCE OF BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN PIPELINE
[02] TRAIN ACCIDENT KILLS 6, INJURES
85 NEAR ISTANBUL
[03] WOLFOWITZ: “TURKEY IS A STRONG
ALLY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM”
[04] DYP LEADER CRITICIZES
GOVERNMENT, SAYING REDUCING INFLATION AND
MEETING SURPLUS TARGET AREN’T ENOUGH TO BOOST
ECONOMY
[05] IMF REPORT PRAISES TURKEY’S
MACROECONOMIC CONDITIONS, BUT WARNS OF HIGH
CURRENT ACCOUNTS DEFICIT
[06] NATO COMPONENT COMMAND AIR
HEADQUARTERS ACTIVATED IN IZMIR
[07] UNESCO URGES MEASURES TO
PROTECT NATURE IN ISTANBUL
[08] MODERATE QUAKE INJURES 11 IN
ELAZIG
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[10] WHILE TERRORISM IS ON THE RISE
BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
[01] ERDOGAN, GEORGIAN PM STRESS
IMPORTANCE OF BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN PIPELINE
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
currently in Tbilisi for an official visit,
yesterday met with his Georgian counterpart
Zurab Zhvania to discuss a number of issues,
including bilateral relations and the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline Project. During
their meeting, Erdogan stressed the importance
of the project for both countries and added that
Georgia would attract more foreign investment
after its completion. The two premiers resolved
to see through the project’s completion as soon
as possible. Erdogan stated that Georgia’s
territorial integrity, stability, and domestic
security were very important for Turkey. Later,
Erdogan met with Georgian President Mikhail
Saakashvili. Speaking at a joint press
conference, Saakashvili said that for years the
Turkish nation had helped Georgians and that he
appreciated this. For his part, Erdogan touted
good relations between the two countries, adding
that he believed these friendly relations would
be further developed. /Turkiye/
[02] TRAIN ACCIDENT KILLS 6, INJURES
85 NEAR ISTANBUL
A passenger train called the Baskent Express
ignored a stop signal on its way from Ankara to
Istanbul and rammed into the oncoming Adapazari
Express yesterday, resulting in the deaths of
six people and 85 injured. The trains crashed
into each other near the village of Tavsancil in
the northwest province of Kocaeli, some 50 miles
east of Istanbul. Visiting the scene of the
accident, Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu said
all the injured had been rescued and taken to
hospital for medical treatment. Transportation
Minister Binali Yildirim said that an immediate
investigation had begun and that he would keep
the public up to date in order to head off
speculation and rumors. “One of the trains ran a
red light,” said Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul.
“When the engineer noticed, he tried to slow
down but unfortunately the accident [still]
occurred.” Conductor Hasan Yucedag said that the
green light had suddenly turned red as the train
was about to cross. Both President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer and Parliament Speaker Bulent Arnic
expressed condolences for those who lost their
lives and wished rapid recoveries for the
injured, stressing the importance of education
in preventing such tragedies. The accident comes
three weeks after a high-speed train from
Istanbul to Ankara derailed, killing 37 people.
/All Papers/
[03] WOLFOWITZ: “TURKEY IS A STRONG
ALLY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM”
US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz
said yesterday that regardless of Ankara’s views
of US policies in Iraq and Afghanistan, Turkey
remained a very strong ally in the fight against
terrorism. Addressing the US House of
Representatives’ Armed Services Committee,
Wolfowitz stated that the US had developed close
relations with several countries in the Islamic
world, especially Indonesia and Turkey. /Aksam/
[04] DYP LEADER CRITICIZES
GOVERNMENT, SAYING REDUCING INFLATION AND
MEETING SURPLUS TARGET AREN’T ENOUGH TO BOOST
ECONOMY
True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar
yesterday visited the Istanbul Chamber of
Industry (ISO) to discuss recent economic
developments. Speaking to reporters before his
visit, Agar warned that the nation was facing
serious problems and criticized the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AKP) Party
government, saying that reducing inflation and
reaching the primary surplus target were not
enough to boost the economy. Agar also
criticized the government’s tax policy, urging
it to adopt tax reforms as soon as possible.
/Cumhuriyet/
[05] IMF REPORT PRAISES TURKEY’S
MACROECONOMIC CONDITIONS, BUT WARNS OF HIGH
CURRENT ACCOUNTS DEFICIT
Following its Executive Board meeting, the
International Monetary Fund yesterday released a
report on Turkey praising the nation’s
macroeconomic conditions, calling them the best
in the last decade. The IMF report stated that
it appreciated the government’s fiscal policies
and efforts to reduce inflation and predicted
that this year’s 12% inflation target and 5%
growth target were both achievable. However, the
report also warned about Turkey’s high debt
stock and the rising current accounts deficit,
which is expected to reach $10 billion by
year’s-end. The report urged the government to
continue to pursue its tight monetary policy in
order to control the trade deficit. /Aksam/
[06] NATO COMPONENT COMMAND AIR
HEADQUARTERS ACTIVATED IN IZMIR
The NATO Headquarters Joint Command Southeast
(JCSE) was deactivated and the Component Command
Air Headquarters (CC Air HQ-Izmir) activated
yesterday in a ceremony held in Izmir. US Naval
Adm. Gregory G. Johnson led the ceremony, which
was attended by Chief of General Staff Gen.
Hilmi Ozkok and other high-ranking NATO
officers. Lt. Gen. Glen W. Moorhead of the US
Air Force assumed the command of the new
headquarters, saying that the CC Air HQ-Izmir
would provide Greece with air support during the
Athens Olympics. /Milliyet/
[07] UNESCO URGES MEASURES TO
PROTECT NATURE IN ISTANBUL
Turkey has two years to take measures to protect
Istanbul’s natural heritage before it is
declared endangered, declared UNESCO at a recent
conference. At its one-week World Heritage
Committee meeting in Sushou, China, which
concluded on July 4, UNESCO examined over 150
reports concerning conservation, including the
condition of nature in Istanbul. Unless Turkey
takes appropriate measures to protect Istanbul’s
nature, warned the committee, the area will be
considered for inclusion on UNESCO’s 2006 World
Heritage list of endangered cultural heritage.
Over 700 national delegates and nongovernmental
organization (NGO) members attended the meeting,
which added 29 cultural sites and five natural
sites to the heritage list. /Hurriyet/
[08] MODERATE QUAKE INJURES 11 IN
ELAZIG
A moderate earthquake injured 11 in the city of
Elazig in southeastern Turkey yesterday. The
5.5-magnitude quake caused panic but no
casualties, and damaged a half-dozen homes and a
mosque. /All Papers/
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[10] WHILE TERRORISM IS ON THE RISE
BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
Columnist Fikret Bila comments on the
terrorist group PKK, the European Union and the
US. A summary of his column is as follows:
“Some are allowing terrorism in Turkey to
once again rear its ugly head. Big cities are
being targeted this time. Turkey had
successfully completed its fight against
terrorism by paralyzing the terrorist group PKK.
However, efforts to get a date for accession
talks from the European Union were merely
intended to legitimize the PKK, which took the
lives of 35,000 civilians. The EU threw its
weight in this direction. For the sake of its EU
accession, Turkey’s hands were tied concerning
the PKK. At the same time, with the new
political conditions as a result of the US
occupation of Iraq, Washington’s cooperation
with Kurdish groups in Iraq and its closeness to
the terrorist group PKK have drawn increased
attention. Ankara saw the US protecting the
Iraqi Kurdistan Democracy Party (IKDP) and the
Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IPUK). The
US policy towards these groups is
undistinguishable from its policy towards the
PKK. Washington even prepared a joint action
plan with Ankara against the PKK, but failed to
take action against the terrorist group.
The US policy is a serious problem for Turkey
in a time of a rising terrorism. Ankara is
expecting Washington to paralyze PKK armed
forces in the Kandilli Mountain in northern
Iraq, and has weakened its hand. Clearly this
problem can’t be solved with the interference of
others. Turkey has to question US policies on
this issue. Turkey supported the US invasion of
Afghanistan and Iraq, done under the pretext of
the fight against terrorism, and now we have the
right to expect a clear attitude from the US.
The US shouldn’t have the opportunity to
continue this policy. Turkey shouldn’t be in a
situation where it is obeying pressure from the
EU and the US. Ankara should consider acting in
the awareness that it has the right to expect
the US to keep its promise, and it should know
that getting a date for accession talks from the
EU is no favor, but Turkey’s right. Turkey has
the power to claim and take its right. The key
thing here is that Turkey’s leaders should
believe in themselves and this power.”
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