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Turkish Press Review, 02-07-22Turkish 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> <map name="FPMap1"></map> Press & Information Turkish Press Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning22.07.2002MY MAILBAG: TURKEY, THE US AND IRAQ BY YASEMIN CONGAR (MILLIYET) GUREL AND CHANGE IN IRAQ POLICY BY ZEYNEP GURCANLI (STAR) DISCUSSION OVER IRAQ BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)CONTENTS
[01] PARLIAMENT TO CONVENE TODAYParliament will convene today to hold an extraordinary session upon a proposal submitted by 141 deputies from the True Path Party (DYP) and the Justice and Development Party (AKP). In order to hold a Parliament session, a minimum of 184 deputies needs to be in attendance. Government coalition partners the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), the Motherland Party (ANAP), and the Democratic Left Party (DSP) as well as the Felicity Party (SP) and deputies recently resigned from DSP are expected to be absent from the session. If the quorum of deputies cannot be reached, the session will have to be cancelled. /All Papers/[02] ECEVIT: “IT’S THE GREEKS WHO DIVIDED CYPRUS INTO TWO NATIONS”Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit explained his views on the Cyprus issue along with a number of other important matters facing Turkey on state channel TRT1 over the weekend. Underlining that it was the Greeks who had divided the island of Cyprus into two nations, Ecevit stated that the Peace Operation launched by Turkey under his prime ministership in 1974 had been a major attempt to solve the problems of the island. “The Cyprus issue has nothing to do with the European Union,” said the premier. “If the EU admits the Greek Cypriot administration, then it would have to accept the co- existence of two separate states on the island.” Stressing that there were two independent nations and states on Cyprus, Ecevit added that the EU had no right to attempt to bring these two nations together by force. /Cumhuriyet/[03] ECEVIT: “HADEP AND THE AKP MAY CAUSE TROUBLES IN TURKEY”Appearing on TRT’s Pazar Panorama yesterday, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit expressed his views on various topics. Regarding predictions that in upcoming elections the Justice and Development Party (AKP) would win the most seats and that the People’s Democratic Party (HADEP) would pass the 10% election threshold, Ecevit said, “If those scenarios come true, Turkey may face a serious regime crisis.” Referring to AKP leader Tayyip Erdogan’s recent statements indicating that he had changed, Ecevit said that there was no evidence to back up these claims. “Certain parties are trying to cooperate with HADEP, which is indeed a representative of separatist activity and has a close relationship with terrorist organization head Abdullah Ocalan,” Ecevit said. “All parties should stand against it, rather than cooperating with it.” He added, “I have never been in favor of a ban on political parties or individuals. However, their real faces should be revealed.” Remarking that he preferred elections be held at their normally scheduled date in April 2004, Ecevit said that although the current government had lost its majority in Parliament, the government still had duties to perform. /All Papers/[04] BAHCELI INSISTS ON NOV. 3 FOR EARLY ELECTIONSDeputy Prime Minister and Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday rejected Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit’s request to postpone elections. Bahceli said that MHP would continue to insist on Nov. 3 for early elections, adding, “Now we will see if the opposition is sincere or not on early elections.” Bahceli also charged that the new political formation headed by former Foreign Minister Ismail Cem did not respect the people’s will. /Star/[05] GOKALP TO ATTEND ECO MEETING IN PAKISTANAgriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Yusuf Gokalp is to travel to Islamabad, Pakistan today to attend an Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) meeting. The three-day meeting, which is to last through Thursday, is expected to focus on a number of important issues, such as improving cooperation on agricultural matters as well as regional problems and recent developments in the agricultural sector. /Cumhuriyet/[06] NEW FORMATION TO BECOME ‘NEW TURKEY’ PARTYMembers of the new political formation led by former Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and former Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin Ozkan are expected today to become an official political party under the name, “Yeni Türkiye” (New Turkey). /Star/[07] IMF DELEGATION TO LEAVE TURKEY TODAYInternational Monetary Fund Turkey Desk Chief Juha Kahkonen and an accompanying delegation are expected today to leave Turkey after holding a final press conference. Turkey’s new Letter of Intent (LOI) is to be sent to the IMF after it is approved and signed by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Deputy Prime Ministers Devlet Bahceli and Mesut Yilmaz, State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis and Central Bank Chariman Sureyya Serdengecti. /Star/[08] RESIGNATIONS FROM THE DSP CONTINUEResignations from senior coalition partner the Democratic Left Party (DSP) continued over the weekend when the party’s Kirklareli deputy, Nural Karagoz, left the DSP. Including this defection, the party now has 64 deputies in Parliament. Meanwhile, the number of deputies in the coalition parties' government has fallen to 270. /Cumhuriyet/[09] AKP RESPONDS TO ECEVIT’S CHARGESResponding yesterday to Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit’s statement that his party constituted a threat, Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputy Group Chairman Salih Kapusuz said, “Ecevit is worried about the AKP since he thinks that it will receive more votes than Ecevit’s own Democratic Left Party [DSP].” Kapusuz also charged that Ecevit had proven unable to prevent his party from falling apart and had lost his deputies’ trust. “Ecevit is saying these things due to his own frustration,” he added. /Aksam/[10] IYIMAYA: “WE DON’T CONSIDER HADEP OR THE AKP AS THREATS”True Path Parpy (DYP) Amasya Deputy Ahmet Iyimaya said yesterday that his party didn’t consider the People’s Democratic Party (HADEP) or the Justice and Development Party (AKP) as threats to Turkey. “The Turkish Republic is very sound,” he said. “Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is trying to postpone early elections with these allegations.” Iyimaya also asked why Ecevit was making these charges now since in his five years as prime minister he had not addressed the issue. /Aksam/[11] NGOs CRITICIZE US PLANS FOR IRAQ INTERVENTIONTwo non-governmental organizations (NGOs), a trade group and a business group, over the weekend came out against a possible United States military operation in Iraq, charging that such an operation would damage the delicate balances of the Turkish economy and plunge the country in a permanent economic and social recession. “A US operation in Iraq would ruin all our economic balances and threaten our country’s territorial integrity, ” said Ankara Chamber of Commerce Chairman Sinan Aygun. In addition, the Turkish Union of Chambers of Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) issued a statement contending that a US operation in the region would mean nothing but destruction and chaos for innocent civilians. /Cumhuriyet/[12] YOUNG BUSINESS LEADER ENDORSES TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BIDMuharrem Yilmaz, deputy chairman of the Confederation of European Young Businessmen’s Associations, said yesterday that Turkey should make its intentions concerning its European Union membership clear. Speaking in Athens at the confederation’s meeting on “Business Culture in Europe,” Yilmaz said, “We should not approach the EU indecisively, but rather we should draw closer to the EU through understanding that Turkey’s and the EU’s path are parallel.” /Sabah/[13] TURKEY TO PUSH WASHINGTON FOR INCLUSIVE QIZSA group of Turkish industrialists has bounded together to ensure that a number of Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs) set to be established in Turkey will include the nation’s labor-intensive sectors. The US Strategy Work Group, an umbrella organization bringing together members of Turkish Assembly of Exporters (TIM), the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) and the Turkish Association of Industrialists and Businessmen (TUSIAD), is set to meet soon with US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and a number of US congressmen. “The US suggested the QIZs earlier this year but then excluded our labor-intensive sectors,” said Turkish Textile Industrialists’ Association (TGSD) Chairman Umut Oran. “This is unfair to Turkey, and we will address it in Washington. In addition, US policies have done great harm to Turkey’s southeast. The Gulf War cost us some $80-90 billion, and the loss in border trade has stifled the region’s development. The QIZs were promised as compensation, and we deserve them.” In addition, TIM Chairman Oguz Satici said that strategic cooperation between Turkey and the US should be reflected in their economic and commercial relations as well. /Hurriyet/[14] ITALIAN TELECOM CEO: “WE HAVE GREAT EXPECTATIONS FOR TURKEY”Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera said yesterday that even as his company was pulling back investments in France, Spain and Austria to the tune of 3.3 billion euros, it planned to expand in Turkey and became a leading player in the country’s telecom sector. Speaking to Turkish journalists during a “Technology days” meeting in Rome, Provera said that Turkey was an important strategic market very close to Europe. Provera, who is also the CEO of tiremaker Pirelli, added, “Due to Pirelli’s years of experience in the Turkish market, I am well acquainted with your country. Pirelli has a strong presence in Turkey and Turkey has a strong industrial structure. This situation represents a tremendous opportunity for mobile phone users. Moreover, we expect the economic crisis in Turkey to end before too long.” Predicting that Turkey could easily overcome its crisis, Provera stated, “Turkey is a very strong country both strategically and potentially. We have great expectations for Turkey in the future, and we believe that Turkey will satisfy these expectations.” /Hurriyet/[15] FINAL FAREWELL TO DEAN OF TURKISH JOURNALISTS TOKERRepresentatives of the Turkish media and many other prominent figures will pay their final respects to Metin Toker, the dean of Turkish journalists, at his funeral today in Ankara. Toker died on Thursday in Ankara after a long illness. Four separate public memorial services will be held in Ankara. /All Papers/[16] MORE TOURISTS CHOOSING TURKEYBucking a worldwide slump in tourism, Turkey saw both the number of tourists visiting its shores and the money they spent rise during the first quarter of this year. The State Institute of Statistics (DIE) announced yesterday that 1.4 million tourists had traveled to Turkey this January- March, up from 1.3 million in the same period last year. In addition, the amount of revenue earned per tourist also increased by some 11.9%, to reach a countrywide total of $886 million. /Sabah/[17] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…[18] FROM THE COLUMNS…[19] MY MAILBAG: TURKEY, THE US AND IRAQ[20] BY YASEMIN CONGAR (MILLIYET)Columnist Yasemin Congar writes about the possible date of a US operation in Iraq and what the US could expect from Turkey. A summary of her column is as follows:“Being a Turkish journalist in Washington sometimes entails being asked the same questions over and over again which in turn necessitates giving the same answers repeatedly. Just last week I received many e-mails asking about early elections, the European Union and the US plans for an operation in Iraq, which is why I decided to write this article as a reply to all those questions. To begin with, when will the US operation in Iraq begin, and what will the US ask of Turkey? It has now become clear that the US won’t change its mind about trying to oust Saddam Hussein, but also that President Bush still hasn’t decided when and how such an operation will be launched. It is nevertheless predicted that the operation will begin sometime between this November and next February. Because ground troops will have to be sent in, the operation is expected to last for at least three months. The political situation in the US will affect the timing of the operation. President Bush may want to wait until after the Congressional elections in November, or he may decide that such an operation could boost the votes of his Republican Party. In the latter case he may launch the operation at the end of October before those elections. Developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the attitude of Arab countries towards US activity in Iraq will also affect the timing of the operation. While the US is busy preparing for this attack, Turkey may be getting ready to hold elections or may be in the middle of trying to form a government in the post-election period. The US may decide to wait until such a government is formed or it may assume that our chief of General Staff will have the final say on the subject. Therefore Bush may not wait until elections are held. The scope and the form of the operation will determine what the US will ask of Turkey. Firstly Turkey will be expected to change its ‘anti-operation’ rhetoric and start acting in an anti-Saddam, pro-US mode. Secondly the US will want to use Turkish airbases as launch pads for bombing sorties against Iraq. Also if the US decides on a total war, which includes fighting on the ground, the use of Turkish soil by US troops will considerably decrease the cost of the operation while increasing its chances of success. The US could also ask Turkey to send in its own troops, but US officials state that they are aware of Turkish reluctance to do so. What kind of government does the US want in Turkey? Obviously Bush would prefer a government that would be ready to support the US war against terrorism and more specifically, its intervention in Iraq. In addition it would like to see a government committed to IMF reforms as well as the objective of membership in the EU. Pro-Islamist or nationalist parties are not considered to be ideal, reliable partners. To sum up, we can say that the US hopes to have a government committed to political and economic reforms in addition to cooperation with the US. This explains the US’ support for Economy Minister Kemal Dervis.” [21] GUREL AND CHANGE IN IRAQ POLICY[22] BY ZEYNEP GURCANLI (STAR)Columnist Zeynep Gurcanli writes on Sukru Sina Gurel’s new Cabinet post as foreign minister and its repercussions on Turkey’s policy towards Iraq. A summary of her column is as follows:“After the recent shakeup and resignations from the Democratic Left Party (DSP), Prime Minister and DSP leader Bulent Ecevit appointed Sukru Sina Gurel as foreign minister. As soon as Gurel took the helm of Turkish foreign policy, he put his stamp on it and the very first signs of this were evident in Turkey’s Iraq policy. A Kurdish state in northern Iraq has been on the agenda of the Kurds for quite a long time, but especially with the intensification of US plans to overthrow Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Kurds have stepped up their efforts and last June they even put forward the idea of a federation in Iraq. The idea was simple: Once Saddam Hussein was brought down, the Arabs in the south of Iraq and the Kurds in the north would form two federations which would be represented as a single body in the international arena. Both of them would be free in their internal affairs but would act in concert in matters of defense and foreign policy. The Kurdish demands went even beyond that. To be able to sustain its economy, the so-called ‘Kurdish federation’ would also include within its borders the Kerkuk region, which is rich in oil resources. Turkey, under then Foreign Minister Ismail Cem rapidly defined its response to this. Accordingly, Turkey would not oppose such a federation if the Iraqi people accepted it, but it would be against Kerkuk, a Turkmen region, being given to the Kurds. But this line of policy was recently altered with the change in the Cabinet. In his visit to Turkey last week, US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was told that Turkey would absolutely reject such a federation system in Iraq. Both plans, a federation or a Kurdish state in northern Iraq were unacceptable, Turkey made clear. The main concern behind this policy shift is the high probability that a Kurdish federation formed after a US military attack on Iraq could, in the future, easily be turned into an independent state, in future and that Turkey could be forced to accept a political fait accompli in the region.” [23] DISCUSSION OVER IRAQ BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)Columnist Ferai Tinc writes on the feelings of the people in southeastern Anatolia regarding a strike on Iraq. A summary of her column is as follows:“I would like to relate the viewpoint of the people in southeastern Anatolia regarding a military operation against Iraq. Even though the messages issued by Washington state that the territorial integrity of Iraq will be preserved, an operation which could very well lead to the founding of an independent Kurdish state is not welcomed by the people supporting HADEP, which is an ethnic political party. The excitement felt in the ‘90s due to an American military operation against Iraq has given way to a reaction. People believe that the bombs coming from both Turkey and Iraq will fall on the Kurds. An operation against Iraq will not be of any use to either Turkey or to Turks of Kurdish origin. This is what the people in the region believe. The word ‘war’ is enough to cause unrest among the people. A society which knows what a war is cannot ask for it. They would like to put enlightenment in place of war. HADEP Mus (a province in southeast Anatolia) Youth Organization is launching a cultural program. Their first aim is to establish libraries in villages, and they are asking for everyone’s support. They have penned a statement for this aim. ‘Science, knowledge and all civilizations emerged in Mesopotamia... They flourished in schools under the ancient Greeks and in Europe during the post- Renaissance era became universal.’ Where are the Arabic and Islamic or other civilizations? There are many issues to debate, an enormous wealth to uncover hand-in-hand. The youth is aware of this and war is not wanted by anyone, wherever they may be.” 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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