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Turkish Press Review, 07-12-27
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
27.12.2007
CONTENTS
[01] PRESIDENT GUL HOSTS TUBITAK AWARDS CEREMONY
[02] ERDOGAN: “ANTI-PKK MILITARY OPS WILL CONTINUE”
[03] MILITARY CONTINUES TO HIT PKK TARGETS
[04] US CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION VISITS PM ERDOGAN
[05] TALABANI, BARZANI MEET WITH US’ CROCKER
[06] DTP CLAIMS TERRORIST PKK IS A “POLITICAL ORGANIZATION”
[07] JAPANESE AMBASSADOR: “WE ARE FULLY COOPERATING WITH TURKEY TO CUT OFF PKK’S FINANCIAL RESOURCES”
[08] EARTHQUAKE RATTLES ANKARA
[09] 2008 MINIMUM WAGE TO BE ANNOUNCED TODAY
[10] SABANCI FIRST TURKISH FIRM TO EARN ISO 27001 CERTIFICATE
[01] PRESIDENT GUL HOSTS TUBITAK AWARDS CEREMONY
The Cankaya Presidential Palace yesterday hosted a Turkish Scientific and
Technological Research Council (TUBITAK) awards ceremony. Present at the
event were President Abdullah Gul as well as Parliament Speaker Koksal
Toptan, Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, several Cabinet ministers, and Board
of Higher Education head Yusuf Ziya Ozcan. Addressing the ceremony, Gul
said that investments in science and technology play a major role in
driving Turkey’s development. Erdogan and State Minister Mehmet Aydin
also delivered speeches, saying that the government places great importance
on investments in science and encouraging research. /Milliyet/
[02] ERDOGAN: “ANTI-PKK MILITARY OPS WILL CONTINUE”
Speaking to TV's Kanal 7 yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
said that Turkey is benefiting from cooperative intelligence sharing with
the US. Saying that Turkey’s recent anti-terrorist operations were
launched using intelligence, experience, and high technology, he reiterated
that these operations against the terrorist PKK will continue. Erdogan also
urged scholars, politicians and non-governmental groups to make proposals
on changes to Article 221 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which deals with
criminal penitence. /Aksam/
[03] MILITARY CONTINUES TO HIT PKK TARGETS
The Turkish General Staff said yesterday that Turkish warplanes hit eight
terrorist caves and hideouts in the Zap region of northern Iraq in an
“effective pinpoint operation.” A general staff statement said that for
some time the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) had been monitoring a large
terrorist group preparing to spend the winter in those caves and hideouts.
The statement said warplanes struck targets belonging to the terrorist PKK
yesterday. "Determined operations within the country are also underway,”
added the statement. “Five terrorists, two of them women, were rendered
ineffective in an operation waged on Sirnak’s Mt. Kupeli on December
25.” /Cumhuriyet/
[04] US CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION VISITS PM ERDOGAN
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday received a delegation of
visiting congressmen from the US House of Representatives. After the
meeting, Democratic Congressman Eliot Engel told reporters that this was
his first visit to Turkey, adding that their talks with Erdogan had been
beneficial. Stating that they had concentrated on Turkish-US relations,
Engel said that Turkey and the US are allies sharing similar views and
interests. He added that Washington is supporting Ankara’s fight against
terrorism. /Turkiye/
[05] TALABANI, BARZANI MEET WITH US’ CROCKER
Meeting yesterday with US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker in the northern
Iraqi city of Selahaddin, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Kurdish leader
Massoud Barzani expressed uneasiness about ongoing Turkish anti-terrorist
military operations on targets in northern Iraq. “We told of our concerns
about the operations conducted by Turkish army,” Molla Bahtiyar,
spokesman for the Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IPUK), the party
founded by Talabani, said after the meeting. Saying that Crocker would tell
Turkey’s foreign minister about these concerns, Bahtiyar added that they
want the cross-border operations into northern Iraq to end. /Star/
[06] DTP CLAIMS TERRORIST PKK IS A “POLITICAL ORGANIZATION”
The Central Executive Board of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) convened
yesterday. In a statement afterwards, the party’s parliamentary deputies
criticized the government’s stance on the Kurdish issue. It charged that
democratic openings and hopes for political resolution had been disregarded,
and peace and dialogue suspended. Claiming that the terrorist PKK is a
political organization seeking a resolution to the Kurdish issue, the party
said that an anti-war front will be formed along with mass movements to
protest a recent Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) crackdown against PKK
militants. /Sabah/
[07] JAPANESE AMBASSADOR: “WE ARE FULLY COOPERATING WITH TURKEY TO CUT
OFF PKK’S FINANCIAL RESOURCES”
Japan will give its full support to Turkey’s bid for a non-permanent seat
on the United Nations Security Council in 2009-10, Nobuaki Tanaka,
Japan’s new ambassador to Turkey, said yesterday. “We also share your
concerns regarding the eradication of terrorism,” added Tanaka. “We are
cooperating fully with Turkey to cut off the (terrorist) PKK's financial
resources.” /Star/
[08] EARTHQUAKE RATTLES ANKARA
An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale jolted the capital Ankara
at 1:47 a.m. early Thursday morning. The quake was centered in the town of
Bala in the province of Ankara. The tremor, which lasted for 25 seconds,
was felt in Ankara and surrounding provinces. /Milliyet/
[09] 2008 MINIMUM WAGE TO BE ANNOUNCED TODAY
Following a series of meetings between government officials and labor
representatives, the Minimum Wage Determination Commission is expected
today to announce the new minimum wage for next year. The current gross
wage for workers over 16 is YTL 585. /Turkiye/
[10] SABANCI FIRST TURKISH FIRM TO EARN ISO 27001 CERTIFICATE
The Sabanci Group has become the first holding in Turkey to earn an ISO
27001 certificate, which is an international information security
management system (ISMS) standard. Speaking to reporters yesterday, Ergun
Hepvar, Sabanci's chief information officer, said the group got the
certificate after passing an audit by the British Standards Institute
(BSI). He said Temsa, a motor vehicle manufacturer, became the first
Sabanci group company to get the certificate as well. Hepvar said
information security was a basic goal for Sabanci and that the
certification would strengthen its strategic approach on the issue.
/Hurriyet/
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