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Turkish Press Review, 08-06-23Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning23.06.2008CONTENTS
[01] PRESIDENT GUL WELCOMING THINK-TANK HEADS TO CANKAYA PALACEPresident Abdullah Gul today is set to host a luncheon at the Cankaya Palace for the heads of three think-tanks, the latest in a series of invitations to prominent civilian figures since he took office last year. Former Ambassador Faruk Logoglu of the Eurasia Strategic Studies Centre (ASAM), Guven Sak of the Turkey Economic Policy Research Foundation (TEPAV), and Ibrahim Kalin of the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research will attend the luncheon to discuss recent issues in Turkey, strategic developments in international power balances, the world economy, and the impact on Turkey of international economic problems. /Turkiye/[02] MARKING 89TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMASYA DECLARATION, GUL AND ERDOGAN CALL FOR UNITY AND SOLIDARITYPresident Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday released separate messages marking the 89th anniversary of the 1919 Amasya Declaration, which called for the Turkish people to resist the occupation of foreign powers and played a key role in the War of Independence and subsequent foundation of the Turkish Republic. In his message, referring to the struggle for national independence from that time, Gul said, "If the Turkish people maintain their unity and solidarity, they can overcome all problems, as in the past." In his message, Erdogan said, "Turkey is now closer to the ideals of the republic than ever before. The Turkish people have proven many times in the past that if they maintain their solidarity and unity, they can overcome all difficulties." /Turkiye/[03] GUL TO VISIT KAZAKHSTAN NEXT WEEKPresident Abdullah Gul is set to visit Astana, Kazakhstan next week at the invitation of his counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev to attend ceremonies marking the capital city's 10th anniversary. Gul is also expected to meet with his Uzbek and Kyrgyz counterparts, Islam Kerimov and Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who will also be visiting. /Milliyet/[04] BAHCELI WARNS ERDOGAN OVER EARLY ELECTIONSIf Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan decides to call for early elections, a political split within his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will ensue, warned opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday. Speaking to Aksam daily, Bahceli said recent developments had brought Turkey to a crossroads, adding, "In such situations, political parties make the countries' peace and stability their basic priority. But in recent months, the motto 'Everything for Turkey' turned into 'Everything for Erdogan.' Erdogan has to make sacrifices to end this political chaos." Urging Erdogan to return Turkey to normalcy, Bahceli added, "As the ruling party leader, Erdogan firstly has the important mission of easing the recent tension in the country until the case seeking the AKP's closure is concluded, but this polarization has another side, namely the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). The CHP must shake free of its shallow, tension-raising political style." Bahceli also said President Abdullah Gul must keep open the door to social and political dialogue to turn this tense atmosphere into one of peace and tolerance. /Aksam/[05] TURKISH COMPANY GIVEN PERMISSION TO BID FOR IRAQI OIL DEALSIraq's Oil Ministry announced yesterday that six more foreign companies, including the Turkish Petroleum Company (TPAO), will be able to bid for future oil and natural gas deals in the country. The ministry stated that in addition to 35 previously announced companies, state companies from Turkey, Vietnam, Pakistan, Thailand, Angola and Algeria will be allowed to bid for contracts. The agreements are expected to be signed on next Monday, June 30. Iraq may have the largest oil reserves in the world. /Cumhuriyet/[06] GULER REPRESENTS TURKEY AT INTL ENERGY CONFERENCEEnergy and Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Guler represented Turkey at an international energy conference over the weekend in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In their final declaration, oil and energy ministers from 37 countries urged markets to be more transparent and work for the stability of world oil markets. /Turkiye/[07] TURKISH, ITALIAN FIRMS TO CO-PRODUCE ATTACK COPTERSTurkey's Tusas Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Italy's Agusta Westland are set to start co-production of 50 and optional 40 attack helicopters. A new contract between TAI and Agusta Aerospace will be marked at a ceremony in Ankara on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul in attendance. TAI will be the local prime contractor, and Turkey's Aselsan and Italy's Agusta will be the subcontractors of the project to produce 90 attack and tactical reconnaissance helicopters produced using national software and hardware systems. Under the contract, Turkey will be a party to the intellectual property rights of the new configuration of helicopters. Turkey will also be the only resource for final assembly, flight procedures and the entire airframe production. /Turkiye/[08] TURKEY MOVES INTO EURO 2008 SEMIFINALS WITH HISTORIC 3-1 WIN OVER CROATIAPlaying against Croatia in the quarterfinals of 2008 European Soccer Championship last Friday night, the Turkish National Football Team knocked out its rival in the penalty shootout with a score of 3-1 and so advanced to the semifinals. This is the first time in its history Turkey has reached the Euro semifinals. Following a 0-0 draw in 90 minutes, Turkey conceded a goal in the 118th minute of the extra time, but Semih Senturk scored an equalizer in the 120th minute, driving the game into a penalty shootout. Hamit, Arda and Semih scored Turkey's goals in the penalty shootout, while the Croatian players missed three times. Experienced goalkeeper Rustu Recber blocked the deciding kick from Croatian player Mladen Petric to send Turkey into the semifinals, where it will face Germany on Wednesday. National team coach Fatih Terim said the match would be a meeting of giants. "We've shown the world that the Turkish team is a great team," Terim told reporters. "We've shown everybody that you shouldn't give up until the end. It's critically important to fight until the very last minute, until the final whistle." He added, "Although the national team has suffered from injuries and suspensions and many of our important players won't be able to play against Germany in the semifinals, we can defeat them. Our job is to do the impossible." Turkey's dramatic win was celebrated with joyful celebrations both in Turkey and abroad wherever Turks live, particularly in Europe. The victory was also celebrated by Turkish officials at Ernst Happel Stadium, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan congratulated the Turkish squad in the locker room after the game. "I never lost my hope," Erdogan said. "When he touched the ball, I knew Semih would score the goal. I'm proud of the team. I will be with them for the semifinal too." Commenting on Turkey's win and its upcoming match, President Abdullah Gul said, "The national team proved that they could reach success even under the most difficult circumstances. I believe the team will give us another victory. Our eyes aren't on Germany now, but the cup." /All Papers/FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… [09] DEMOCRACY AND SOCIAL SAFETYBY MURAT YETKIN (RADIKAL)Columnist Murat Yetkin comments on the General Staff, democracy and social safety in Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows: "The joy of our national team's unforgettable victory against Croatia has become the top issue for most of us. Our team reaching the Euro semifinals for the first time is of course a great success. I hope this will continue. Now let me discuss other important issues… The purported July 2007 General Staff action plan recently published in Taraf daily proposed an intervention by the staff in civilian life, including the judicial branch and the media, in order to direct political and social life. The General Staff said that no such plan had been approved by its command echelons. The closure case against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is pushing a fight within the state to its highest level. As long as the government faces new problems with the judicial branch, either government officials or other units acting autonomously on the government's behalf want to make the military a direct party to this fight and also want other countries to see this as a conflict between the military and civilians. Efforts to wear away at the military's honor are part of this, but other efforts which paint the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) like a political party also help. Yesterday I wrote this: 'More documents or other papers which haven't yet become official documents started to be released from General Staff headquarters without notification from the command echelons. The General Staff now looks like a sieve. People are saying that if these documents on domestic developments are being released so easily, could other documents concerning the country's security, anti-terror efforts or delicate intelligence issues also be released or fall into the hands of rival countries or organizations?' Before these words were even published, an important development occurred. The General Staff's Military Court prohibited broadcasting images of 'momentary intelligence' recorded by drones in northern Iraq. Apparently this ban stems from a recent border incident in which a police station was suddenly attacked by terrorists and soldiers were killed. The ongoing investigation and documents related to state security were also cited to support the ban. If the document found by Taraf daily had been found by another media figure, it still would have been published. The problem is the General Staff looking like a sieve due to this atmosphere of conflict and the campaign against it. Now there's the impression that anti-TSK campaign and elements within the TSK started to go outside the chain of command and went into action against the command echelons. It's clear now that certain non-commissioned and commissioned officers within the TSK whose identities have been hidden expose all the documents they receive, like suicide bombers, thereby endangering the future of their profession. We might also see the discharges of large numbers of officers by the annual Supreme Military Council meeting as a result of this. But certain question marks started to emerge about the General Staff's response to this. It would be helpful if the General Staff focused on the security of buildings and confidential documents, rather than its work on civil society and media. It's important that the military not interfere in the democratic operation of politics. It's equally important that the military fix national security weaknesses, because we should ensure transparency not through scandals, but through democratic control mechanisms. The operation of democracy and national security concerns everyone." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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