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Turkish Press Review, 02-05-13Turkish 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> <map name="FPMap1"> <_map> Press & Information Turkish Press Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning13.05.2002CONTENTS
[01] SEZER PRAISES THE VIRTUES OF MOTHERSPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer said yesterday that the love, self-sacrifice and tolerance bestowed by mothers while devoting their lives to their children should set an example for all of humanity. Mother’s Day was celebrated throughout Turkey on Sunday. In his message to mark the holiday, President Sezer stated that motherhood was based on a continuous love and self-sacrifice which are both immeasurable and irreplaceable. In his message for the day, Parliament Speaker Omer Izgi said that the existence of mothers was the strongest guarantee of love, friendship and peace. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said the women were the cornerstone of the family and community life. Deputy Prime Minister and Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli said that the women were still facing discrimination. In addition, Turkish Religion Foundation (TDV) Women’s Branches made prayers for Ataturk’s mother Zubeyde Hanim as well as other mothers. TCV Women’s Branches Chairman Ayse Sucu said, “We need more mothers who can raise children like Ataturk.” /Cumhuriyet/[02] PARLIAMENT TO DISCUSS RTUK AND AMNESTY BILLSThis week Parliament’s General Assembly is set to discuss the remaining articles of a bill on the Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK), the first eight articles of which it discussed last week. The Parliament will work on the issue from 3:00 to 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. A bill concerning conditional release which was rejected by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and returned for reconsideration is to be discussed again on Wednesday. /Star/[03] ECEVIT RETURNING TO WORK AT PRIME MINISTRY OFFICEPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit will reportedly return to working at his office at the Prime Ministry today. Ecevit was treated in the hospital last weekend for an intestinal infection, and he has been resting at home since then. /All Papers/[04] ANNAN TO VISIT CYPRUSUnited Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is due to arrive in Cyprus tomorrow. During his contacts on the island, Annan is expected to try to move the two sides towards more momentum in the direct talks to find a settlement to the Cyprus issue. /Milliyet/[05] DERVIS: “OUR ECONOMY DOESN’T REST ON ANY ONE PERSON’S SHOULDERS”State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis said yesterday that the Turkish economy no longer depended on any one person. In an interview with Greek daily To Vima, Dervis stated, “I look forward to working again with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, and I hope he gets well soon. However, Turkey’s economic situation doesn’t rest on the shoulders of any particular person or persons.” The economy’s structure has moved beyond that, he suggested. “Turkey’s economy is on a fast track to a better place,” he predicted. “Inflation is slowing, foreign exchange reserves are increasing. The reforms the government has achieved to date are paving the way for a much healthier economic structure in the long run, one independent of politics and the control of any single person.” Stressing that the Turkey’s progression towards the European Union would help its economy greatly, Dervis pointed to the importance of Turco-Greek cooperation in that process. “The greater is the cooperation between Turkey and Greece, the better it will be for both of us,” Dervis remarked. /Milliyet/[06] ERDOGAN SUBJECT OF GRAFT INQUIRYAnkara Republican Acting Chief Prosecutor Bekir Selcuk has begun an inquiry on Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Tayyip Erdogan into his personal assets and the sources of money transferred to his party. The charges deal with alleged graft during Erdogan’s term as mayor of the Greater Istanbul Municipality and use of that revenue to establish the AKP. He is expected to be questioned on May 23. /Milliyet/[07] ANAP COMES FIRST IN ELECTIONS IN ARMUTLUAt city council elections yesterday in the Armutlu district of Kemalpasa, a town in the province of Izmir, the Motherland Party (ANAP) came first in the polls. In the nine- member council, ANAP won four seats while the Republican People’s Party (CHP) got three, and the True Path Party (DYP) two. In elections held in April 1999, the CHP was the top party, while ANAP was second. /Hurriyet/[08] GREEKS CHORAL GROUP PERFORMS IN CANAKKALEA visiting women’s choral group from Agios Stefanos, Greece, performed yesterday at Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University (COMU). The 32-member group’s concert at COMU’s Suleyman Demirel Conference Hall was a part of the university’s seventh Spring Festival. The group’s performance included Turkish and Greek folk songs, and afterwards they were treated to a taste of Turkish cuisine. /Cumhuriyet/[09] TURKISH UNIONS VISIT MIDDLE EAST TO PUSH FOR PEACEA delegation made up of leaders from five major labor groups in Turkey traveled yesterday to Israel and the Palestinian territories to make a push for peace in the region. The delegation was make up of Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Unions (DISK) Chairman Suleyman Celebi, Confederation of Public Workers’ Union (KESK) Chairman Sami Evren, Confederation of Turkish Labor Union (Turk-Is) General Education Secretary Salih Kilinc, Turkish Trade Union Confederation (Hak-Is) Chairman Salim Uslu, and Association of Turkish Chambers of Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) Executive Board Chairman Kaya Guvenc. At a pre-departure press conference, DISK Chairman Celebi laid out some of their visit’s goals. Celebi said that hunger and extreme poverty were growing in Palestine with each passing day, and that employment in Israel was also increasing and that an imminent economy could threaten workers. Celebi said that they were visiting the region because they considered contributing to restarting the process of peace and dialogue in the region a social responsibility. “We will be glad if all parties, and especially labor organizations, will meet together in Turkey in order to contribute to dialogue and peace,” he added. “We hope that our suggestions will be accepted and that a civilian forum will lead to dialogue that opens the door to lasting peace.” The delegation will hold meetings with representatives from various unions and professional chambers in Israel and meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres tomorrow. It will go to Nablus the same day and meet with the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Palestine. The delegation will then visit the Jenin Refugee Camp and be received by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Wednesday in Ramallah, and is due to return to Turkey on Thursday. /Cumhuriyet/[10] BARTHOLOMEOS VISITS GOKCEADAIstanbul Greek Patriarch continued his visit yesterday to the Turkish island where he was born, Gokceada, by attending a rite in the Pananiye church in his hometown of Zeytinli. Many tourists were on hand to witness the patriarch’s nostalgic trip. /Star/[11] YILMAZ: “GAP PROJECT WILL BE COMPLETED IN 2010”The Southeastern Anatolian Project (GAP) will be completed in 2010 after additional spending of 11.8 quadrillion TL, State Minister Mustafa Yilmaz said yesterday. Yilmaz added that GAP Regional Development Plan had been prepared to complete the project and that the program’s total cost would be 22.5 quadrillion TL in terms of 2002 currency values. /Star/[12] VURAL SUGGESTS PIECEMEAL PRIVATIZATION FOR TURK TELEKOMA senior government minister suggested yesterday that the privatiation of government landline monopoly Turk Telekom is soon to be realized, but through a piecemeal rather than all-at-once approach. “A piecemeal approach seems very logical to me since a company as huge as Turk Telekom cannot easily be privatized as a whole,” Transportation Minister Oktay Vural told the daily Aksam. “Moreover, the asking price of 15-20 billion dollars seems a bit much in today’s market. For this reason, selling off separate companies, holdings and services is more rational approach.” Vural added that a prominent consulting firm had endorsed this method of privatization. \Aksam\[13] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS[14] THE MIDDLE EAST IS OUR FATE BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on Turkey’s relations with Middle Eastern countries. A summary of her column is as follows:“Last week I visited Baghdad, the capital of a neighboring country which recently decided to improve its relations with Turkey in order to stave off the threat of US intervention. Today, I’m visiting Damascus, the capital of another neighboring country which also believes in the necessity of improving its bilateral relations with our country. Damascus is still a beautiful city. Syria’s young leader Bashar Al-Assad is open to changing his policies to bolster his country’s relations with Europe as well as Turkey. Democratization is another top issue on his agenda. He symbolizes the beginning of new changes. A new leader and new hopes... On Saturday night, university students held a demonstration in Damascus to protest the Israeli siege of the Palestinian territories. Meanwhile, the Syrian, Saudi Arabian and Egyptian leaders issued a statement denouncing the ongoing violence in the Middle East on the same day. Each step to be jointly taken by Israel and the Palestinians would greatly contribute to the improvement of relations between those countries. Such a development would be much more helpful than expected. I have recognized during my visits to those cities that the region has a great potential for development. Additionally, I have become aware that establishing good relations with the Middle Eastern countries is undeniably Turkey’s fate. While Turkey, a country on its path towards the EU, is a great treasure for the Middle East, the region also has a great deal of potential for development which is very important for Turkey. Turkey’s trade volumes with Iraq and Syria have already reached one billion dollars. I can see more clearly here in Damascus what Turkey would do to contribute to the development of the region with its new economy policies represented by Kemal Dervis and what kind of opportunities it could provide for its neighbors.” [15] LEADERS’ SUMMIT BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)Columnist Fikret Bila writes on a leaders’ summit to be held this week. A summary of his column is as follows:Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is planning to hold a summit this week to be attended by all leaders of the coalition parties. The major issue to be discussed at the summit is expected to be abolition of the death penalty. A decision was made at the last leaders’ summit that a study on certain sensitive issues such as the abolishing the death penalty and broadcasting in Kurdish language should be carried out under the coordination of Foreign Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal and Secretary-General for EU Affairs Volkan Vural. The results of the study will be discussed at this week’s summit. Can the death penalty be abolished in this country? Ecevit is well known for his belief in the necessity of abolishing it. He has always stressed that Turkey would miss great opportunities in its relations with the EU if it failed to take the necessary steps to fulfill the Copenhagen criteria. Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz also supports getting rid of the penalty. They both believe that executing PKK terrorist head Abdullah Ocalan would be neither beneficial nor helpful to Turkey. However, another coalition partner, the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) believes that the death penalty must be abolished after Ocalan’s execution. MHP leader Devlet Bahceli argues that all articles covering capital punishment in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) might be abolished except for the Article 125, under which Ocalan was sentenced to the death penalty. It won’t be easy for the Democratic Left Party (DSP) and the Motherland Party (ANAP) to convince the MHP on this issue. They are expected to try to persuade Bahceli to an alternative solution: Ocalan’s death penalty might be replaced by life in prison under strict conditions. However, the MHP doesn’t seem to be easily persuaded. That’s why nobody should expect an immediate solution to this political hot potato.” 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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