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Turkish Press Review, 05-05-11Turkish 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 morning11.05.2005FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…CONTENTS
[01] SEZER MEETS WITH PORTUGUESE PRESIDENTPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who is currently paying an official visit to Portugal, yesterday met with his Portuguese counterpart Jorge Sampaio. At a press conference after their talks, Sampaio said that whatever the results of referendums in certain European countries, Turkey would begin its accession talks with the European Union in October as scheduled, adding that Lisbon’s ongoing support to Ankara would continue. In addition, the two leaders agreed that Turkish Airlines (THY) would begin direct flights to Lisbon in the coming days. /Star/[02] ERDOGAN CALLS ON OPPOSITION TO CHANGE THEIR STANCEAddressing the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) parliamentary group meeting yesterday, AKP leader and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey had entered a “new political era.” Commenting on opposition parties’ criticisms of privatization, Erdogan called on them to display thoughtful stances rather than “old-fashioned” politics. “We favor a state which is more powerful and effective and is fully implementing its main duties,” said the premier. Stressing that reducing the state’s involvement in the economy would not weaken it but rather strengthen society, Erdogan said, “In other words, for the sake of political and economic democracy, the state’s role in the economy should be reduced.” /Turkiye/[03] GUL: “IF TRIED 100 TIMES, OCALAN WOULD BE CONVICTED 100 TIMES”Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday expressed his hope that the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) impending ruling on PKK terrorist group leader Abdullah Ocalan would be acceptable. “Even if the leader of a terrorist group whose crimes are known by the entire world is tried a hundred times, he’ll get the same penalty,” said Gul. “There’s no doubt about it.” The ECHR ruling is expected tomorrow. /Sabah/[04] BAYKAL CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO GIVE UP “SUBMISSIVE” STANCERepublican People’s Party (CHP) leader said yesterday that a possible European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decision to retry PKK terrorist organization leader Abdullah Ocalan couldn’t be considered natural. Speaking at his party’s parliamentary group meeting, Baykal claimed that the European Convention on Human Rights doesn’t state that ECHR rulings will be applied automatically, adding that the legal phase will be completed with the ECHR and then the European Council of Ministers will make a political decision. Baykal called on the government on to give up its “submissive” stance. /Sabah/[05] ALPOGAN TO VISIT ISRAELNational Security Council (MGK) Secretary General Yigit Alpogan will hold contacts in Tel Aviv, Israel as the guest of his Israeli counterpart Giora Eilant to discuss increased cooperation on security issues and regional problems. It’s expected that a large delegation will accompany Alpogan during this important visit. /Hurriyet/[06] COUNCIL OF STATE CELEBRATES 137TH ANNIVERSARYThe Council of State yesterday celebrated the 137th anniversary of its establishment. Speaking at a ceremony in Ankara, council head Ender Cetinkaya said that all state institutions should respect the independence of the judiciary, adding that secularism was one of the basic values of the Republic and attacks on it should not be tolerated. In the evening, Cetinkaya hosted a reception at Parliament. In addition to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Constitutional Court Chief Justice Mustafa Bumin, Cabinet ministers and other high-level officials were present at the reception. /Hurriyet/[07] ERDOGAN TO VISIT THE US IN JUNEPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to begin his visit to the US on June 8. In addition, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc will pay an official visit to the US at the invitation of House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert on May 24-27. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will also travel to Florida to attend a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) and to seek support for Turkey’s United Nations Security Council membership. After completing his contacts, Gul is expected to join Erdogan on his visit of the country. /Turkiye/[08] OZKOK TO ATTEND NATO MEETINGChief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok yesterday traveled to Brussels, Belgium to attend the 152nd NATO Chiefs of General Staff meeting. Ozkok is expected to return to Ankara on Friday. /Turkiye/[09] ANOTHER DEPUTY RESIGNS FROM THE AKPRuling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Cankiri Deputy Ismail Ericekli yesterday resigned from his party. It is rumored that Ericekli decided to quit his party after he was unable to reach Prime Minister and AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan to convey his complaints about the party administration. After Ercekli’s resignation, the number of AKP seats Parliament fell to 355, while those of independents rose to 8. Ericekli is expected to join the True Path Party (DYP). /Star/[10] ARMENIAN-SPONSORED BOOK FAIR TO INVITE TURKISH AUTHORSThe Armenian diaspora has taken an important step toward compromise by deciding to organize a book fair in Paris to which it will invite Turkish, Armenian and Greek Cypriot authors. Under the project, which is supported by the French government, the title of the fair will be “Books and Authors From and On Turkey,” and it is set to be held next January at Paris’ FIAP Foyer Jean Monet International Cultural Center. /Milliyet/[11] IMF BOARD TO DISCUSS TURKISH STANDBYThe International Monetary Fund Executive Board will meet today in Washington to discuss Turkey. It’s expected that Ankara’s new three-year standby agreement, including loans totaling $10 billion, will be approved during the meeting. /Hurriyet/[12] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…[13] AT SQUARE ONE BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen comments on the possibility of starting a new process on the Cyprus issue. A summary of the column is as follows:“Sometimes coincidences make things easier. At the luncheon given on the occasion of VE Day celebrations in Moscow, the seating arrangement put Greek Cyprus leader Tassos Papadopoulos at the same table as UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan. Maybe this coincidence created the first direct contact opportunity for a new beginning on the Cyprus issue. During the luncheon, Annan and Papadopoulos discussed how they can jump start the negotiations process, which is currently dormant. The secretary- general said that there is a need for a new formation, and the Greek Cypriot leader said he favors the negotiations starting again. Annan also said that he plans to send a special envoy to the region soon. At the end of the luncheon, when Prime Minister Erdogan went to Annan’s table to talk to him, this time also with the participation of Papadopoulos, the conversation turned into a tripartite one. What does this mean? Will a new negotiating process begin? The conversations in Moscow were only square one of a new deal. So it is impossible to say how a new process will unfold. Right now we can only say that there’s just a chance. That’s all. In the coming weeks a lot of work will be done on this. From the beginning, the Turkish side has always stressed that it favors new negotiations. Now Papadopulos has a similar stance. It is pleasing to see that the prospect of new negotiations on the Cyprus issue has emerged again, but we shouldn’t be too optimistic about this before knowing under which circumstances it will happen. The coincidence in Moscow has cleared the path for a new process, but this path seems to be very long and difficult.” [14] TWO IMPORTANT PROBLEMS BY ALI BAYRAMOGLU (YENI SAFAK)Columnist Ali Bayramoglu comments on Turkey’s European Union membership bid. A summary of his column is as follows:“On their path towards European Union membership, many candidate countries first fulfilled the political criteria and then the technical ones. The Copenhagen criteria make up the initial phase for candidate countries through which their democracies are harmonized with the EU’s understanding of the rule of law. In the second phase, negotiations cover technical, social and economic issues. Naturally, it is always the first phase which sees the most intense discussions in the candidate countries, as they feel that their national sovereignty is being threatened. However, this hasn’t been the case in Turkey. Despite two years of radical reforms, significant discussions on the country’s national sovereignty have been absent. Opposition to reforms has come from bureaucrats and certain small groups only. On the other hand, a reactive atmosphere is dominating our country in the runup to Oct. 3 when our membership negotiations are expected to begin. This attitude is of a political and social nature, reminding me of sovereignty discussions. Although these reactions don’t refer to a clear opposition to EU membership, they rather signal a more inward-looking national attitude. The closer we get to the EU, the more we try to box ourselves into our own boundaries. There are two overlapping problems that we need to deal with. First, Turkey must reinforce its recent reforms in terms of both mentality and implementation. The Armenian issue, a possible retrial of terrorist Abdullah Ocalan and the Fener Greek patriarch issue are some of more critical problems that Turkey will have to face in the future. By their very nature, these problems are different from the issues related to the reform process. Unlike in the past, we will have to deal with problems aside from civilianizing the state structure and maintaining a balance between military and civilian institutions. This time we’ll tackle deeper problems, ones hard to identify and distinguish from others such as redefining our social identity and facing our past. The Armenian and Kurdish problems are here to stay. We can’t avoid discussing them. Thus, such tense issues are very likely to spark social opposition and reactionary mechanisms in the future, which would probably lead our country to a kind of polarization. In this stage, we’ll experience both domestic tensions and international ones. Each area of tension feeds another. For example, the possibility of Ocalan’s retrial might exacerbate tension between different groups and incite ultranationalist reactions even among the most unexpected circles. This will be a true test for our democracy. Political and social rationality is crucial now. The second big problem is an issue which has yet to be resolved despite all of the recent reforms, one which refers to a cherished ideal, a democratic hope: the civilianization of the state structure. The military is still very influential in civilian politics and institutions. All of these problems can’t be solved immediately. I guess we need some time to set in motion domestic dynamics which will heed nothing but the national will. Today, our biggest problem is that out society has yet to choose between transformation and maintaining the status quo. In time, we will all have to face ourselves…” 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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