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Turkish Press Review, 08-09-25Turkish 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 morning25.09.2008CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH BASBUGPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday visited Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug. The visit at the General Staff headquarters lasted over one hour. During the meeting, which was Erdogan's first visit to Basbug after taking over the helm of Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) last month, Turkey’s cross-border operations into northern Iraq against the terrorist PKK and an official motion enabling cross-border operations into northern Iraq were discussed. /Star/[02] IN NEW YORK, GUL ATTENDS A MEETING ON IRAQOn the sidelines of 63rd UN General Assembly session, US President George W. Bush, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and heads of state of countries participating in the coalition forces in Iraq yesterday met with at a gathering on Iraq, with Turkey represented by President Abdullah Gul. At the meeting, Talabani thanked Turkey for its efforts to restore peace and stability in Iraq, and said that the struggle against the terrorist PKK will continue as before. US Permanent representative to UN Zalmay Khalilzad praised Turkey contributing to establishment of democracy and stability in Iraq. Khalilzad referred to Turkey's efforts to convince Iraqi Sunnis to participate in the elections and said they were very effective. Continuing to hold bilateral talks with fellow UN members, Gul was also decorated yesterday with a medal by New York-based Foreign Policy Association for his efforts and contributions to Middle Eastern peace. /Star-Aksam/[03] PARLIAMENT SPEAKER TOPTAN URGES KILICDAROGLU AND FIRAT TO ACT CALMLYDengir Mir Mehmet Firat, deputy leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Kemal Kilicdaroglu, deputy parliamentary group leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) are planning to settle accounts with each other in front of media in Parliament this afternoon. Then, Turkey's Parliament for the first time will witness a live debate between two politicians from rival parties that will be moderated by one of the country's most prominent journalists, Ugur Dundar. In related news, Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan advised both politicians to go to court instead of engaging in a face-to-face discussion under the roof of the Parliament. "Of course, we're not going to block our two friends' intention to make a press release," Toptan told reporters, adding that he advised the two to think more about making such a meeting. He also invited the two deputies to his office before the meeting, hopping to pursue them to forgo the showdown. The ongoing dispute between the two deputies has started when Kilicdaroglu argued a truck apprehended with heroin inside belonged to the company of which Firat is said to be a major partner. /Hurriyet/[04] TOP EU OFFICIALS TO VISIT TURKEY EARLY NEXT MONTHOlli Rehn and Andris Pielbags, EU commissioners for enlargement and energy, are scheduled to pay an official visit to Ankara on October 10 to hold talks with high-level Turkish officials. During their visit, Rehn and Pielbags will be received by President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and will also meet with Foreign Minister and Chief Negotiator for the EU talks Ali Babacan. Rehn and Pielbags' talks are expected to focus on Turkey's EU reforms, the Cyprus issue and NABUCCO natural gas pipeline project as part of energy supply security of the union. The NABUCCO project will transport Caspian Sea natural gas to Europe via Turkey in an effort to reduce the bloc's energy dependence on Russia. /Turkiye/[05] BARTHOLOMEOUS URGES EU TO MAKE TURKEY FULL MEMBERIstanbul's Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomeous has urged the European Union to take Turkey as a full member. Addressing European Parliament's General Assembly yesterday, the Orthodox leader said that Turkey's majority Muslim religious should not be an obstacle to it joining the EU, adding that the bloc would benefit from its different culture. He also called the EU officials not to do discrimination against Turkey during the accession process. /Hurriyet/[06] SIMSEK: "TURKEY'S SHOWING MAJOR STRENGTH AGAINST THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS"Attending Global Investment Forum in New York yesterday, State Minister for the Economy Mehmet Simsek said that Turkey doesn't need IMF funds any more. However he added that evaluations on a cautionary stand-by or post-program monitoring agreements with the fund were continuing. Touching on the current US-oriented global economic turmoil, Simsek also said that Turkey's economy was showing major strength against the global economic crisis. The new economic program with the Fund is expected to take effect as of early next year after the completion of preliminary talks and technical works on it in the months to come. In related news, the IMF gave green light to a new economy policy package by the government, aiming to reduce unemployment, bolstering production and reviving the country's real economy. /Star/FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… [07] A LOT OF MONEYBY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA (AKSAM)Columnist Ismail Kucukkaya comments on the economic situation in Turkey and the world. A summary of his column is as follows: "When President Abdullah Gul was preparing for elected the president, we used to hear some people saying that when he's elected, he would share the government's burden in foreign policy, cooperate with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and thus follow an active foreign policy. Indeed, his performance has been extraordinary since the day he was elected. Gul who's currently in New York, US now paid his second visit to the US in the last 13 months. He's been working together with Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and also following the Foreign Ministry step by step. The most influential initiative he's made at the Presidential Palace was in the area of diplomacy, that is, his visit to Yerevan, Armenia. Gul's efforts have reflected his aim of integration into the global system with links to politics and economy since the very beginning. When I was trying to finish this article, I saw a program entitled 'A Lot of Money' on the television. This slogan is the best for this global age, because one can operate at the stock exchange and transfer money 24 hours a day thanks to the communication opportunities anywhere in the world. These days the world has been suffering the greatest economic crisis in its history, following the Depression of 1929. Now there are clouds of fear in Washington for which even a rescue package of $700 billion won't be enough. We're experiencing an era in which the rules of capitalism are almost rewritten. So what are we doing? Are we aware of the gravity of the issue? Are we taking necessary measures? The press conference about the economy held by Erdogan was a late, but useful step. He also spoke mostly about the economy in Urfa the day before, which showed that he has developed awareness about the seriousness of the issue. These are good signs, because the economy shouldn't be neglected. I read on the Referans daily two days ago that there was the problem of coordination among economy ministers. I don't think that the situation is as serious as that much, but the initiative taken by Erdogan is vitally important, in terms of the structure of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). When the government developed close relations with neighboring countries in the area of foreign policies, this situation contributed to the economy greatly. That was the time when the AKP just came into power, Turkish economy's dimension of finance was in the foreground and the importance was being placed on macro economic balances. Our relations with our neighbors and Arab countries also helped us about the hot money flow that we needed. Unfortunately, the reflection of these flows in the real sector was insufficient. The global crisis is increasing in parallel to other crises in such areas of food and energy. So it's not likely that the current shrink will end soon. The global economy is a reality which is different from the international economy as a whole. So I'm talking about the financial capital without a nationality and thus the effects of crises are felt in the entire world, because the money is virtual now and it tours around the world. We were an attractive country, as we provided the highest real interest rate. This situation also increases the risk factor and the bells of alarm are tolling for Turkey now. No matter what, the politics also require economic power. The monetary power is both the owner and at least the partner of political power. The economy determines how the politics will be shaped. The upcoming elections in the US are a good example for this. From another point of view, the sunken banks are the financial companies which are symbols of the global economy. Now the state is intervening in markets. But the capitalism used to argue just the opposite. So what will be the result? How will the economies operate with the state's intervention? We know that liberal economies have a limit. That's exactly where we are. The change of paradigm on which Ankara has to work is obligatory here." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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