Turkish Press Review, 06-10-09

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From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>

09.10.2006

CONTENTS

[01] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH SAUDI KING ABDULLAH

[01] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH SAUDI KING ABDULLAH

Commenting on general elections set for a year from now, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said that the assembly had completed four successful years but that there were people jealous of this success. “All of us need to guard against these,” said Arinc. “We’ll do our job. The only thing we have is democracy. We know that the nation can make a different decision this time.” /Milliyet/ [03] PARLIAMENT TO VOTE ON LOWERING ELECTION AGE FROM 30 TO 25

Parliament will take up a Constitutional amendment this week to lower the age of eligibility to be elected a deputy from 30 to 25. The measure has the backing of all political parties in Parliament. The first round of voting will be held tomorrow, and the second on Thursday. /Milliyet/[04] US ANTI-PKK ENVOY TO VISIT TURKEY

The US’ special envoy for countering the terrorist PKK is scheduled to visit Turkey this week, according to diplomatic sources. Despite earlier expectations that the first trilateral meeting of the Turkish, US and Iraqi special envoys would be this week, diplomatic sources said on Sunday that such a meeting is still not fixed. /The New Anatolian/[05] FINLAND’S LIPPONEN: “THERE’S NO TURNING BACK ON THE ROAD TO FULL EU MEMBERSHIP”

Finnish Parliament Speaker Paavo Lipponen yesterday said that Turkeyy was a European Union candidate country, adding, “There’s no turning back from here.” Lipponen, paying a visit to Izmir as a guest of Izmir Greater Municipality Mayor Aziz Kocaoglu, said that Turkey’s path to the EU may be problematic, and added, “You’re on the right track. We want to see Turkey in the EU. But this journey requires patience. The goal is full membership.” /Star/[06] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER URGES TURKEY TO OPEN ITS PORTS TO GREEK CYPRIOTS

Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said yesterday that the coming three months would be a difficult period in Turkish-European Union relations. Speaking to Greek daily Kathimerini, Bakoyanni said that the time for Turkey to implement the Ankara Protocol has almost expired, adding that EU states including Greece would decide on Turkey’s membership in the near future. Claiming that Ankara’s opening its ports and harbors to Greek Cypriots would be a key factor for a positive decision, Bakoyanni said that that topic could not even be debated. She stated that the EU could not continue its path as if everything is in order when a candidate state hasn't fulfilled its commitments to the bloc. The Greek foreign minister also claimed that the Turkish minority in Greece's Western Thrace region enjoys rights and responsibilities equal to those of ethnic Greeks, despite ample evidence to the contrary. /Turkiye/[07] SARKOZY SAYS TURKEY “NOT EUROPEAN,” SHOULDN'T BE IN EU

Right-wing French Interior Minister and presidential favorite Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday that before deciding on enlargement, the Europe Union should first answer the question of who is a European and who is not, adding that the bloc should restrict its enlargement. In a guest op-ed published in Britain's Sunday Telegraph, Sarkozy called on the bloc to carry out reforms to establish its strategies. He also asserted that a “preferential partnership” should be established with certain countries which he claims are not European, foremost among them Turkey. /Turkiye/[08] TUZMEN: “THE ANTIDOTE TO THE CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT IS EXPORTS”

State Minister Kursat Tuzmen said yesterday that the antidote to Turkey's high current account deficit was exports, adding that within international rules more incentives should be provided for exporters. Tuzmen said that rising imports were a chief factor triggering the current account deficit. Saying that exports should be boosted so the deficit does not become a threat, Tuzmen added that the antidote to the deficit was exports. “There is no way to reduce the deficit without boosting exports,” said Tuzmen. “Also, first exchange rates should come to a normal level.” /Milliyet/[09] WB’S VORKINK: “IMF RAISING TURKEY'S VOTING QUOTA SHOWS IT JOINING THE RANKS OF THE ELITE”

World Bank Turkey Director Andrew Vorkink yesterday said that the International Monetary Fund's recent decision to raise the voting quota of Turkey (together with China, South Korea, and Mexico) shows that Turkey is joining the ranks of elite countries. Vorkink stated that the Fund had raised the quota of only four countries, including Turkey. “By doing this, the IMF confirmed that Turkey has become a global power," he said. Vorkink further stressed that Turkey had a stronger economic infrastructure than Romania and Bulgaria, which are both set to join the European Union next year. /Aksam/[10] IMF DELEGATION ARRIVES IN ISTANBUL

A delegation from the International Monetary Fund headed by Turkey Desk Chief Lorenzo Giorgianni yesterday arrived in Istanbul to review recent developments in the nation's economy as part of the standby agreement between Ankara and the Fund. The delegation will meet with representatives of the banking sector and the business world in Istanbul and listen to their views and proposals about the program. /Sabah/[11] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…[00] I WOULD GO TO BAKU

Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on the so-called Armenian genocide and Turkey’s stance on it. A summary of her column is as follows:

“Debates over the so-called Armenian genocide disturb not only Turks of the Armenian origin, but also me. However, we should accept that these separatist discussions will continue, because the Armenian diaspora is actually trying to turn this claim into an international one and make it widespread. Otherwise they know that Turkey won’t accept this claim. They think that the issue of genocide should be made into a trump card which can be used at every opportunity. The news from diaspora circles last week was emphasizing spreading the claim of genocide and announcing that Nagorno- Karabagh (an Azerbaijani territory occupied by Armenians) is an independent Armenian state. The plans drawn by the diaspora about Armenia and Armenians envisages that these two aims will be reached by the year 2025. In other words, the claims on genocide are evaluated and planned not in the form of facing history, but as an element of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

The Caucasus is getting active. The problem between Russia and Georgia concerns us as well. Armenia’s border with Turkey is already closed, and the same is true of Azerbaijan's. Now it’s very likely that the Georgian border will be closed. This situation is worrying Armenia, which has huge economic problems. Although French President Jacques Chirac’s visit and gestures provided a little comfort, a new process started for the solution of the Nagorno-Karabagh issue. The Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers met. The Minsk group made a new proposal. Azerbaijan says that it will never accept Nagorno-Karabagh’s independence, and Armenia is insistent. The diaspora is following this issue. It’s planning to make the public adopt a second Armenian state. Although Azerbaijan says that it’s abiding by the cease-fire, recently it’s been emphasizing a ‘solution with war, if the issue can’t be solved with peace.’ In a poll of the Azerbaijani Parliament, most of the deputies stated their will in this direction. Armenia is nervously watching Azerbaijan raising its defense budget 17.8%. The tension is so real that Washington stated that there’s no way the problem can be solved with war. What is Azerbaijan doing? It’s trying to make its voice heard on international platforms. It’s trying to make the people hear that Azerbaijani territory is under Armenian occupation and that the massacre in Hocali was a genocide but that the entire world forgot it after all these years following the war. Azerbaijan is trying to express itself, but nobody is listening.

When I heard that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip would go to Saudi Arabia, I remembered these things. After Chirac defended his insistence that Turks recognize the so-called Armenian genocide, deputy candidates of Turkish origin who live in the Netherlands were forced to accept this as well, which was a disgrace. Due to political reasons French deputies are preparing this Thursday to pass a law criminalizing even questioning the genocide claims. In such a period, where should Erdogan visit? Baku or Jeddah?”

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