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Turkish Press Review, 05-05-25Turkish 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 morning25.05.2005FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...CONTENTS
[01] WHITE HOUSE: “THE BUSH-ERDOGAN MEETINGS WILL EMPHASIZE WASHINGTON’S SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BID”White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan yesterday announced that United States President George W. Bush is set to receive Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan this June at the White House. “President Bush will welcome Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House on June 8,” he said. “This meeting will provide an opportunity to invigorate US-Turkish cooperation with respect to Turkey's European Union aspirations, and to strengthen our work together to advance freedom in Iraq and the broader Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.” /Sabah/[02] ERDOGAN PLEDGES TO SUPPORT TEXTILE MANUFACTURERSPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday received representatives of the textile and ready-to-wear sector. The premier pledged to support textile manufacturers to overcome the problems in the sector. “The government will do its utmost to support them,” he said. “I call on them [textile companies] to make new investments in 49 provinces covered by the Incentives Law.” Representatives of the sector submitted a report to Erdogan outlining the conditions they face and proposing solutions to their problems. Erdogan yesterday also addressed his ruling Justice and Development Party’s group meeting and responded to the recent criticisms about the government’s headscarf policy. /Cumhuriyet, Sabah/[03] BABACAN NAMED CHIEF NEGOTIATOR FOR EU TALKSPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday named State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan as the chief negotiator for Turkey’s European Union accession talks. After the long-delayed announcement, Babacan told reporters that he was honored by the appointment and would work with harmony with all sectors of society to overcome difficulties on the road to EU membership. Diplomatic sources stated that Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will head the negotiation delegation and will carry out the talks with the EU together with Babacan. Two state institutions, the Secretariat General for the European Union and the State Planning Organization (DPT), are also expected to participate in the talks. After establishing a negotiation delegation, 34 separate teams for 34 topics will be formed by Oct. 3, the date scheduled for Ankara to begin accession talks. In addition, the appointment was welcomed by EU figures, politicians and the business world. Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission Co-Chairman Joost Lagendijk hailed it as a positive decision both for the EU and Turkey, adding that Babacan would contribute to the process with his respected and persuasive character. /Turkiye/[04] AFTER CICEK CONDEMNS ARMENIAN CONFERENCE, UNIVERSITY POSTPONES ITJustice Minister Cemil Cicek yesterday branded as “treasonous” a group of scholars organizing a conference to debate and question Turkey’s official position on the so-called Armenian genocide allegations. The three-day conference to be hosted by Istanbul’s Bogazici University was to be attended by Turkish scholars and intellectuals who question Ankara’s official stance on the issue. However, upon harsh criticism by both Cicek and other politicians, the university announced that the conference had been postponed. Cicek condemned the initiative as a blow to government efforts to counter the Armenian campaign to have the incidents internationally recognized as genocide. "This is a stab in the back of the Turkish nation... this is irresponsibility," Cicek said. "We must put an end to this cycle of treason and insult, of spreading propaganda against the Turkish nation.” For their part, the organizers of the conference said that it is high time for Turkey’s scholars and intellectuals to voice views diverging from the official stance. "The expression of critical and alternate views will be to Turkey’s benefit," the statement added. /All Papers/[05] ARINC TRAVELS TO THE UNITED STATESParliament Speaker Bulent Arinc yesterday traveled to the United States to hold meetings with US officials. Arinc is expected to meet with US House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert and other high-level officials in Washington. /Cumhuriyet/[06] AGAR: “DYP MEMBERS ARE FREE TO EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS”True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar said yesterday that party members were free to express their views within party discipline and without harming party unity. Before the first meeting of his party’s new Administration Board established after the Eighth Ordinary Party Congress, Agar criticized certain recently emerged opposition groups in the DYP, telling reporters that they weren’t acting in line with a political stance and were not a political movement. He also urged party members to express their proposals and views within party rules and act in line with its discipline. Furthermore he called on members who resigned from the DYP last week to return to the party fold. /Turkiye/[07] EU COMMISSION: “TURKEY’S NEGOTIATIONS WILL BEGIN ON OCT. 3 IF THE COUNTRY FULFILLS THE REQUIRED CRITERIA”Krisztina Nagy, spokeswoman for EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, yesterday stated that Turkey’s negotiations would begin on Oct. 3 if the country doesn’t fail to fulfill the required criteria. Asked whether Sunday’s French referendum on the EU Constitution and Germany’s early elections would affect Turkey’s negotiations, Nagy stressed that Turkey’s membership talks are set to begin on Oct. 3 as specified by the EU Commission’s December 2004 resolution on Turkey. “Turkey should sign the protocol of the Ankara Agreement and complete the necessary legal reforms,” she underlined. “There are no other preconditions.” /Cumhuriyet/[08] HUNTINGTON: “THE EU WON’T TAKE TURKEY, SO IT SHOULD FOCUS ON ISLAMIC WORLD”Samuel Huntington, the controversial American author of "The Clash of Civilizations,” yesterday urged Turkey to turn its back on Europe and look to its Muslim neighbors. In Istanbul for a conference, Huntington told CNN Turk that Ankara's bid to join the European Union was doomed to fail. "I don’t believe Turkey will make it into the EU, because the Europeans don't want it,” he claimed. “They'll do everything they can to keep it out.” /Hurriyet/[09] FIRST OIL TO BE PUMPED THROUGH BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN PIPELINEThe first pumping of oil through the Baku-Tbilis-Ceyhan pipeline will take place today during a ceremony in Baku. In addition to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, his Azerbaijani, Georgian and Kazakh counterparts, Ilham Aliyev, Mihail Saakashvili and Nursultan Nazarbayev, are set to attend the inauguration ceremony. The pipeline which spans 1,770 km, is expected to annually transfer 50 million tons of crude oil produced in the Caspian region to world markets via Turkey. The first oil is planned to reach to Turkey’s port of Ceyhan in six months. Meanwhile, Sezer, who is currently visiting Azerbaijan, yesterday had talks with the Azerbaijani and Georgian presidents to exchange views on bilateral and regional issues. /Turkiye/[10] IMF: “TURKISH BONDS ARE ATTRACTING INVESTORS”In its Global Financial Stability Report released yesterday, the International Monetary Fund said that Turkey’s risk situation is on the mend. Since this recovery is being sustained, stated the IMF, Turkish bonds in international markets are attracting more investors even though the country is at the same risk level as many other developing countries. Advancing macroeconomic indicators and Turkey’s efforts to harmonize with the European Union also fuel the bonds’ popularity, the report added. /Aksam/[11] OECD: “TURKEY’S ECONOMIC EXPANSION WILL REMAIN ROBUST IN 2005 AND 2006 AT A MORE SUSTAINABLE RATE”The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) expects Turkey to mark a more sustainable rate of economic expansion of around 6 percent in 2005 and 2006. The Economic Outlook Report prepared by the OECD noted that last year the Turkish economy grew by 9 percent on the basis of gross domestic product (GDP). According to the report, strict macroeconomic policies and structural reforms should be implemented to sustain the current level of capital flow to the country. “After Turkey’s EU negotiations begin in October, economic expansion might increase further if the capital flow accelerates,” it added. /Hurriyet/[12] BAN ON ONUR AIR LIFTEDTransportation Minister Binali Yildirim said yesterday that the ban imposed by a number of European countries on flights of Turkish airliner Onur Air would be lifted beginning last night. After a series of talks with his Dutch, German and Swiss counterparts in Moscow as part of a meeting of European transportation ministers, Yildirim stated that Onur Air would resume its flights to these countries, adding that after completion of official procedures, France would also lift the ban. Urging Onur Air officials to take all necessary measures for security, Yildirim said that the airline should be ready for inspection and monitoring. Onur Air has lost some $20 million due to the ban imposed by the four European countries over more than 10 days. /Turkiye/[13] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[14] BABACAN’S DIFFICULT TASK BY MERIC KOYATASI (AKSAM)Columnist Meric Koyatasi comments on Economy Minister Ali Babacan’s new duty as Turkey’s chief negotiator for its EU membership bid. A summary of his column is as follows:“Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday appointed Economy Minister Ali Babacan as Turkey’s chief negotiator for over European Union negotiations to start on Oct. 3. We wish him success. As a young politician, Babacan has taken on a heavy burden. He conducted relations with the International Monetary Fund following our economic crises very well. He also showed a very harmonious working relationship with Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan in terms of steadily implementing the economic program. I hope he will show the performance expected of him during the negotiation process as well. However, this time he has quite a difficult task. Germany’s decision to hold early elections and the strong possibility of anti-Turkish Christian Democrat leader Angela Merkel’s becoming chancellor and Sunday’s French referendum on the EU Constitution could hold up Turkey’s full EU membership and the negotiation process. However, what I mean by difficult concerns other issues. There is a double standard in certain EU member countries’ stance on Turkey. There are many examples of this. For instance, back in March the EU lambasted Turkey when Turkish police treated badly some people who used Women’s Day as a pretext, most of whom were members of terrorist groups. The French police then treated students who were fairly protesting educational reform more severely, but nobody said a word about it. Their explanation is funny but true. They say we have an image problem. I’m not opposed to the EU. However, the Turkish nation’s culture and way of doing things are very different from those of Europe. In addition to different cultures, if you add the EU’s double standard, full membership seems a pipe dream to me. However, neither senior nor new Turkish politicians, nor our social structure are enough for us to take steps by ourselves. We enact certain measures under pressure from the outside and just because the IMF or EU wants us to. Therefore, I think the process of full EU membership negotiations will be beneficial for Turkey. Even the fact that our negotiations will start in October has made Turkey more attractive in the eyes of investors. Turkey’s harmonizing its penal law and commercial law to EU norms and its adoption to the Maastricht criteria are also very good developments. I hope the work of Ali Babacan and his staff goes smoothly.” [15] CONGRATULATIONS TO BABACAN BY CUNEYT ULSEVER (HURRIYET)Columnist Cuneyt Ulsever comments on the appointment of Economy Minister Ali Babacan as chief negotiator for accession talks with the European Union. A summary of his column is as follows:“Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has finally appointed the chief negotiator for accession talks with the European Union. I both congratulate the prime minister for this decision, and Ali Babacan for his new and very important mission. Probably Babacan will start working immediately. A very important job has been given to him. In order to fulfill this important task, Babacan must leave the economic mission he presently carries out. Otherwise, he won’t be able to be productive in a mission which will take up all his time. I hope the new minister for the economy will also be somebody who doesn’t make any concessions, like Babacan. One of Babacan’s duties is of course to choose assistants and sub- negotiators in consultation with the government. These tasks are also very important. In selecting people for these posts, Babacan has to stop being a politician and act like a statesman. It is natural that the chief negotiator is a politician from the party in power, but in selecting the other negotiators, some values cannot be ignored. The people of Europe always get to know the Turkish people through Turks living in their countries who go out of their way not to integrate with them, and identify these people who never want to compromise with the entire Turkish nation. I once more wish Babacan success in his new and very important mission.” 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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