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Turkish Press Review, 04-12-01Turkish 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 morning01.12.2004ERDOGAN RECEIVES BELGIAN DELEGATION GUL ATTENDS TURKISH-EU CONSULTATION COMMITTEE MEETING AT THE HAGUE BAYKAL: “THE GOVT SHOULD SPEAK UP ON OUR EU BID” POWELL TO SEEK BELGIAN, DUTCH SUPPORT FOR ANKARA’S EU TALKS BELGIUM, SLOVAKIA AND POLAND EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR ANKARA’S EU TALKS IN RUNUP TO KEY EU SUMMIT, ANKARA PREPARES FOR EUROPEAN VISITORS EU CONSIDERS STARTING ACCESSION TALKS “WITHOUT UNDUE DELAY” AUSTRIA COMES OUT FOR “SPECIAL PARTNERSHIP” ARRANGEMENT TRIPARTITE MEETING DISCUSSES TURKISH TRUCKERS’ SECURITY IN IRAQ PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE PENAL LAW PRESS CONFERENCE SPOTLIGHTS NEW, OPEN NSC FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS… MUSLIMS IN THE EU BY OZDEMIR INCE (HURRIYET) THE NETHERLANDS’ DRAFT ON TURKEY’S EU BID BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN RECEIVES BELGIAN DELEGATIONPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday received visiting Belgian Parliament Speaker Herman De Croo and an accompanying delegation. During their meeting, Erdogan thanked De Croo for Belgium’s support for Turkey’s European Union membership bid. Erdogan said that Ankara had implemented the Copenhagen criteria and expected a date to begin its EU talks soon at the Dec. 17 Union summit. Discussing his contacts in the country, Croo said that from everything he had seen all sectors of Turkish society support the government’s EU aspirations. He also expressed his hope that Ankara would get a date to begin talks at this month’s summit. Commenting on the Cyprus issue, Erdogan said that he couldn’t understand how Greek Cyprus had become an EU member this May without first resolving the island’s “border dispute.” /Aksam/[02] GUL ATTENDS TURKISH-EU CONSULTATION COMMITTEE MEETING AT THE HAGUEForeign Minister Abdullah Gul, who is currently at The Hague, yesterday attended a joint meeting of the Turkish-European Union Mixed Consultation Committee. Addressing the gathering, Gul warned that if the Union doesn’t decide at this month’s EU summit to begin Ankara’s accession talks, then this could create a crisis of confidence, adding that both sides should do their best to prevent this. In related news, Gul is due to travel to Ljubljana, Slovenia today to meet with his Slovenian counterpart Ivo Vajgl to discuss a number of issues, including bilateral relations and Turkey’s EU membership bid. He is also expected to meet with Slovenian President Janez Drnovsek and Prime Minister Anton Rop to seek support for Turkey’s EU talks. Slovenia has been an EU member since May. /Cumhuriyet/[03] BAYKAL: “THE GOVT SHOULD SPEAK UP ON OUR EU BID”Main opposition Democratic People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday charged that the government was “keeping silent” in the face of important developments concerning Turkey’s European Union membership bid. Stressing that this attitude would lead nowhere, Baykal warned that the EU is pressing Turkey to both recognize Greek Cyprus and accept a “special partnership” arrangement rather than full membership. Baykal further called for the EU bid to be discussed by Parliament. /Hurriyet/[04] YAS CONVENESThe Supreme Military Council (YAS) chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met yesterday. During the gathering, in addition to regional issues including Iraq, the fight against terrorism and the threat of fundamentalist groups working to undermine the secular republic were also discussed. Furthermore, eight military personnel were dismissed for disciplinary violations. In the evening, the members of the YAS attended a banquet hosted by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. /Cumhuriyet/[05] POWELL TO SEEK BELGIAN, DUTCH SUPPORT FOR ANKARA’S EU TALKSOutgoing US Secretary of State Colin Powell is due next Monday to begin a tour of several European countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands and Bulgaria, as well as Morocco. During his visits, Powell is due to seek support for Ankara’s European Union accession talks before the Dec. 17 EU summit, and he is expected to urge European officials to begin Ankara’s talks without any conditions. Powell’s possible farewell visit to Europe as secretary of state is being seen as part of Washington’s final push to encourage the EU to give Turkey a date to begin its talks. In related news, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher reiterated on Monday that Ankara should be given a date to begin its talks, saying, “We certainly believe that Turkey needs to be put on a path to membership.” /Star/[06] BELGIUM, SLOVAKIA AND POLAND EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR ANKARA’S EU TALKSBelgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht said yesterday that his government supported beginning Ankara’s accession talks next year, adding that the talks’ only goal should be full EU membership. Addressing a conference on Turkey’s EU bid, De Gucht stressed that “privileged partnership” proposals for Turkey were unacceptable. In related news, the Slovakian Parliament yesterday said that it supports Ankara beginning its EU accession talks, and the Polish government declared that the Union should begin Ankara’s talks in the first half of next year. /Turkiye/[07] IN RUNUP TO KEY EU SUMMIT, ANKARA PREPARES FOR EUROPEAN VISITORSIn the runup to this month’s key European Union summit, with the fate of Ankara’s EU talks hanging in the balance, Ankara is getting ready to receive a host of top-level European visitors. Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopez is due to arrive in Ankara today for a three-day official visit. He is expected to meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss Turkey’s EU bid. European Parliament President Josep Borrell is also expected to pay a four-day official visit to Turkey starting tomorrow. During his stay, Borrell will be accompanied by Joost Lagendijk, the co-chair of the Turkish-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission. In addition, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht is expected to arrive in Ankara tomorrow for a two-day official visit. During his stay, De Gucht will meet with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. Finally, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moritanos is due to visit Ankara on Dec. 10-11 to discuss its EU bid. /Turkiye/[08] EU CONSIDERS STARTING ACCESSION TALKS “WITHOUT UNDUE DELAY”A European Parliament committee yesterday recommended that the EU open membership talks with Turkey “without undue delay.” An amended report approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Union’s assembly said that the Dec. 17 EU summit should “open the negotiations with Turkey without undue delay” if Ankara meets the Union’s conditions. “The [report’s] compromise got the balance between constructive and critical in the right way,” said Camiel Eurlings, the Dutch Christian Democrat who drafted the document. In an amendment, the committee said that opening negotiations would “presuppose recognition by Turkey” of Greek Cyprus. /Sabah/[09] AUSTRIA COMES OUT FOR “SPECIAL PARTNERSHIP” ARRANGEMENTAustrian chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel yesterday said that the European Union at its summit later this month must make clear to Turkey that any negotiations may result in an arrangement other than full membership. “The decision about Turkey should say that the accession talks should be open-ended and that there could be many alternatives to EU membership,” added Schuessel. /Star/[10] TRIPARTITE MEETING DISCUSSES TURKISH TRUCKERS’ SECURITY IN IRAQMeeting in Ankara yesterday, Turkish, Iraqi and US officials gathered to discuss the security of Turkish truck drivers working in Iraq. The officials reportedly agreed to take additional measures to boost security, including the expected support of coalition forces. In related news, at a meeting in Iran, Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu stated that since the Iraq war, 66 Turkish citizens had been killed in the country and 16 taken hostage, while 16 others remain missing. /Turkiye/[11] PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE PENAL LAWAs part of Ankara’s efforts to harmonize with European Union norms, a revised Penal Procedural Law (CMUK) was approved yesterday by Parliament’s Justice Commission. The bill is expected to be debated by the full Parliament this weekend. /Hurriyet/[12] PRESS CONFERENCE SPOTLIGHTS NEW, OPEN NSCPlaying host to some 200 Turkish and foreign reporters, the national Security Council (NSC) General Secretariat yesterday held its first-ever press conference in its 71-year-old history. Yigit Alpagon, the NSC’s first civilian secretary-general, gave a detailed briefing on the institution. Addressing the journalists, Alpagon said that 294 people worked at the NSC General Secretariat, including 15 military officers. In line with Ankara’s latest efforts to harmonize with the European Union, over the last few years the NSC has been transformed into a more advisory body. Alpagon stated that despite certain structural changes, there had been no change in the NSC’s function. “We will continue to evaluate internal and external threats to the country’s security,” said the secretary-general. /Turkiye/[13] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…[14] MUSLIMS IN THE EU BY OZDEMIR INCE (HURRIYET)Columnist Ozdemir Ince comments on Muslim structures in Europe and the relationship between Islam and Christianity. A summary of his column is as follows:“Today I’d like to share with you an interesting e-mail I got from one of my readers in the Netherlands: ‘Today there are 450 mosques in the Netherlands, plus 250 in Sweden and 150 in Denmark. The first mosque here was built in 1991 in Zaandam. The city donated 800,000 guilders (363,000 euros) for its construction. The Dutch people built two minarets in the district, each costing 2 million guilders. They raised millions of euros for their construction. However, now the country is ruing this support. The Netherlands, Belgium and France are all confused about Islam. In France, if one of the witnesses to a wedding is wearing a headscarf, then both the witness and the wedding itself are considered invalid. These countries are cracking down on their Muslim communities. Once the Netherlands was a country whose police shrunk from checking citizens’ identity cards, but now everybody is required to carry valid ID.’ For students of European history, it’s very surprising to see the Europeans’ ignorance and inexperience in dealing with Islam. Over the centuries, most European countries co-existed with Muslim communities as their colonizers. Thus, this relationship didn’t really transcend that of master and slave. Europeans failed to learn about Islamic structures and traditions. In the Netherlands, mosques affiliated with Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate can be controlled and kept in check. But, those connected with various religious orders obey nothing and nobody besides their own authority. They are like feudal structures. But what must Europe do? First, the old continent should abandon the notion that there is a structural similarity between Christianity and Islam. In Christianity, the salaries of religious officials are often paid by the church, but if we did the same in Islam, in other words, if the various religious orders paid salaries, all hell would break loose. Therefore, despite its shortcomings, the best method for managing Islamic structures is to establish a Religious Affairs Directorate, as Turkey did. All the mosques of Europe, large and small, must be gathered under the helm of one central authority. This is the only way to effectively manage relations between the two faiths. I don’t mean to say that I care much for our Religious Affairs Directorate, since in my view it clearly has some deficiencies. However, since we mustn’t leave our mosques in the hands of religious communities and orders, such a directorate is the best way to protect them.” [15] THE NETHERLANDS’ DRAFT ON TURKEY’S EU BID BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen comments on a draft statement on Turkey’s EU bid by EU Term President the Netherlands. A summary of his column is as follows:“The draft statement leaked this week says things which it shouldn’t have but fails to say things which it should have. Most importantly, the statement doesn’t include a date. In other words, it doesn’t indicate just when the EU will start membership talks with Turkey. The draft, prepared for the Dec. 17 EU summit, consists of two sections, one directly on Turkey and the other addressing the general framework of talks. The last article of five paragraphs about Turkey is blank, but it was supposed to indicate a timetable for talks. Of course this blank will be filled before Dec. 17, but how? France and Austria in particular are leaning towards adding expressions of ‘open-ended negotiations,’ ‘privileged partnership’ and ‘strengthened cooperation.’ It seems that the chairmanship preferred to leave the task of filling in there blanks to the relevant governments and leaders. In other words, this important issue is open to discussion and bargaining. Maybe the final decision will be made on the last day and last minute of the summit. The EU Commission’s report didn’t refer to the Cyprus issue, but this statement includes it. The third paragraph says: ‘The European Council would be glad if Turkey signs the additional protocol on the Ankara Treaty, by taking the participation of new members into consideration.’ Translation: Turkey should recognize the Greek Cypriot administration. This means that the intensive lobbying of Greek Cyprus and Athens yielded results. When should this recognition take place? Should this happen before Dec. 17, or before our talks start, or during the talks themselves? Officials and analysts say that no one expects such a thing before the summit. Thus, they guess that this expression in the third paragraph will change. In addition, two issues shouldn’t be neglected. Firstly, this document is only a draft, it will be discussed in many meetings and probably certain parts will change. Secondly, the draft should be evaluated as a whole. For example, the first two paragraphs of the chapter on Turkey adopt the commission report’s advice. It includes such issues as free movement and delaying membership talks in the general principle framework chapter. Certain issues in the draft declaration might sound good. There’s no need to panic or feel hopeless. We’ve got a long, difficult road ahead of us. We should face it squarely.” 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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