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Turkish Press Review, 02-08-21Turkish 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 morning21.08.2002ECEVIT: “WE HAVE NO TIME FOR ALLIANCES” BAYKAL: “ECEVIT SHOULD END HIS POLITICAL CAREER IN THE CHP” OZKOK: “REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS HAVE INCREASED TURKEY’S IMPORTANCE” CILLER: “THE DYP’S POLICIES ARE DIFFERENT FROM ANAP’S” SHP LEADER KARAYALCIN REBBUFFS BAYKAL IRAQI KURDISH OFFICIAL TO VISIT TURKEY FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… A CHANGE OF HEART FROM THE US BY ZEYNEP GURCANLI (STAR) SHIFTING POLITICAL GROUND BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)CONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT: “WE HAVE NO TIME FOR ALLIANCES”Prime Minister and Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Bulent Ecevit said yesterday that there was a very short time left before November’s elections and that the DSP had no time to seek unity on the left. “For a long time, the DSP has not believed in forming alliances in elections,” stated Ecevit, “We have no intention of doing so this time either.” /Cumhuriyet/[02] YILMAZ RETURNS FROM DENMARKDeputy Prime Minister and the Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz returned yesterday from his visit to Copenhagen, Denmark. During his trip, Yilmaz held contacts with European Union Term President Denmark’s Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller to seek support for Turkey’s EU membership bid. Yilmaz told reporters the Danish officials said that Turkey had exceeded their expectations in taking very important steps in line with EU reforms. “I told them that in return for those steps, Turkey awaits concrete steps from the EU by setting a date for the beginning of our full membership negotiations,” stated Yilmaz. Concerning ANAP Deputy Yasar Okuyan’s recent resignation, Yilmaz said that all party members were free to choose their own way before elections. “But as for us, we will continue to stay our own course,” Yilmaz added. /Turkiye/[03] CEM TO MEET WITH SCHROEDERNew Turkey Party (YTP) Leader Ismail Cem is expected to meet with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder today. Before leaving for Germany, Cem told reporters at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport that Germany was the key country for Turkey in its EU full membership bid. “German support is very important for the YTP in terms of its economic policy, which gives top priority to investment and production,” Cem added. /Cumhuriyet/[04] BAYKAL: “ECEVIT SHOULD END HIS POLITICAL CAREER IN THE CHP”Speaking on ATV last night, Republican People’s Party (CHP) Leader Deniz Baykal said that Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit had been one of the top figures in Turkey’s political life for many years and that if he was going to end his career in politics, he should do it where he first began, namely the CHP. “The CHP is the place where Mr. Ecevit first entered politics, so his ending things there would be fitting,” said Baykal. “I say this as chairman of the CHP.” Baykal is expected to meet with former Economy Minister Kemal Dervis today. /Cumhuriyet/[05] OZKOK: “REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS HAVE INCREASED TURKEY’S IMPORTANCE”Speaking at a military ceremony at the Second Army Commandership in Malatya yesterday, Land Forces Commander and future Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok stated that Turkey was located in one of the most sensitive regions of the world. Conflicts and wars in Turkey’s immediate region have raised the nation’s profile and importance, he added. Gen. Hilmi is due to assume his new post heading up the General Staff at the end of this month. /Turkiye/[06] OKUYAN RESIGNS FROM ANAPMotherland Party (ANAP) Yalova Deputy Yasar Okuyan resigned from his party yesterday. Previously, Okuyan had resigned from his post as labor and social security minister, in protest of ANAP leader Mesut Yilmaz’s stance on a job security bill. Following yesterday’s resignation, Okuyan, who had served the party for nearly 20 years in active and important positions, harshly criticized Yilmaz, saying that Turkey’s citizens would hesitate to vote for ANAP under his leadership. Meanwhile, ANAP Isparta Deputy Erkan Mumcu declared that he would resign from the party if Yilmaz didn’t convene an extraordinary congress in the coming days. /Turkiye/[07] CILLER: “THE DYP’S POLICIES ARE DIFFERENT FROM ANAP’S”Speaking to NTV yesterday, True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller said that her party wouldn’t seek an alliance with the Motherland Party before elections because the central pillars of the two political parties’ policies were too different. “Unity on the center-right will be established by the ballot box in November’s elections rather than alliances between parties,” she said. “I think Dervis’s efforts to unite leftist parties will have little effect. Half of the votes are on the center-right and 20% are on the center-left, so it’s very important to unite the rightist parties.” /Milliyet/[08] SHP LEADER KARAYALCIN REBBUFFS BAYKALSocial Democrat People’s Party (SHP) leader Murat Karayalcin yesterday issued a firm rebuff of Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal’s call for those who left the CHP in recent years “to grow up and mature” and return to the party’s fold. “I have no problem with maturity,” stated Karayalcin. “However, I think politicians should be mature and refrain from such jokes which could lead to misunderstandings.” Karayalcin left the CHP in March 2001, citing alleged “anti-democratic and illegal practices” within the party. /Milliyet/[09] IRAQI KURDISH OFFICIAL TO VISIT TURKEYHoshyar Zebari, a foreign policy aide to Iraqi Kurdish Democratic Party (IKPD) leader Massoud Barzani, is due to arrive in Turkey from the US today. Zebari is set to brief Foreign Ministry officials on a recent meeting of Iraqi opposition leaders in Washington. After his visit, Zebari will proceed to northern Iraq to brief Barzani on developments at the Washington meeting. /Milliyet/[10] HEAVY RAINS CAUSE FLOOD DAMAGEThe heavy rains which have wreaked havoc in recent days across central Europe have had an impact on Turkey as well. Many cities, including Istanbul, have weathered the unprecedented downpours, and three people in the Black Sea city of Samsun died after being struck by lightning. The rains paralyzed daily life in Istanbul and flooded more than 100 houses and places of business. State meteorology officials predicted that the rains would continue through Thursday. /All Papers/[11] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…[12] A CHANGE OF HEART FROM THE US BY ZEYNEP GURCANLI (STAR)Columnist Zeynep Gurcanli writes about the change in United States’ approach to the Iraqi issue. A summary of her column is as follows:“Washington seems to have had a change of heart on how to deal with the Iraqi issue. The determination of the US to strike Iraq seems to have lost some steam. While a few months ago US newspapers were full of reports of the possibility of the US sending troops to Iraq, now the same newspapers try to avoid using the words ‘military operation.’ The same goes for President Bush’s National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. Of course she always states that Saddam Hussein should be removed from power, but she never neglects to add that Bush has yet to decide on the method of his removal. In addition, US Secretary of State Colin Powell is the person most opposed to an operation in Iraq. Lately, Powell and his circle seem to be spending more time trying to form an organized Iraqi opposition than planning a military operation in Iraq. Moreover, former Secretary of State under Nixon and ‘US operation expert’ Henry Kissinger has been seen frequently huddling with Powell in recent days. All these factors show that the US is trying to oust the regime not through military force but by using Iraq’s own internal forces. It’s not difficult to understand the reasons for the US’ change of heart. Firstly, and most importantly, Bush has been unable to drum up the international support he was looking for to move against Saddam Hussein. The Arab states that supported the operation against Iraq during the Gulf War have now turned their backs on the US. The ‘No to Operation in Iraq’ campaign was launched by Egypt. Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia were of the same opinion, so they declared that they did not support US military plans in Iraq. As the European states (the only exception being Britain) and particularly Germany declared that they too had no taste for any operation, the only support the US was left with was Turkey. However, Turkey had already decided to hold elections, and it also had a sick prime minister as well as a sick economy. Now, clearly economic and political developments in the US always have repercussions in Turkey, and we’re beginning to see the effects of the sudden hush in US saber-rattling. Turkish politicians who now realize that they won’t be getting enough votes to get into Parliament and so want to forestall early elections have already started to encourage the US to go ahead with a military operation in Iraq.” [13] SHIFTING POLITICAL GROUND BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)Columnist Taha Akyol comments on the recently shifting landscape of Turkish politics. A summary of his column is as follows:“There has been an earthquake of near-epic proportions among Turkey’s voters. Will the total of votes for the Motherland Party (ANAP) and the True Path Party (DYP), which attracted nearly half of all votes a decade ago, be able to reach even 20% in November’s elections? This 30% hemorrhaging represents the votes gained by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Action Party (MHP). There will also be a loss of votes on the left, even if not quite this much. Most probably the Democratic Left Party (DSP) will prove unable to reach the elections threshold and the Republican People’s Party (CHP) will emerge the largest party of the left. Could Ecevit be satisfied with such a result? Although I don’t favor the left, I wouldn’t be happy with such a result for Mr. Ecevit because of my respect for him. Ex-Economy Minister Dervis is thinking along these lines: ‘The DSP’s legal status and Ecevit’s DSP leadership will continue, at least in name.’ A honorary title, for example, ‘leader emeritus,’ suitable to Ecevit’s respected personality and his historical mission on the left, will be proposed. Politicians from the DSP will thereafter be candidates on the CHP’s list. Would Ecevit accept this? He has in fact rejected it. As he said yesterday, ‘I don’t have time to waste on alliances.’ After Dervis decided on a ‘leftist alliance’ instead of a broad-based alliance, he said, ‘Not a single vote for the left should be wasted.’ These words of his are very significant. Every vote going for a leftist party which fails to pass the threshold means diminished leftist representation in Parliament. This situation is much the same for the right as well. Public opinion polls show that the CHP is the second- most-popular party, following the AKP. The CHP might attract more votes during the elections campaign. In such a situation, the CHP might gain more deputies than it does votes due to the setup of our elections system. In the last elections the MHP was the number two party, gaining 24% of 550 deputies with 18 votes. Although the ground is very shaky, we can say that if such a thing occurs, the left will be strongly represented by the CHP in Parliament, but it’s a dream for the CHP to come to power alone. On the right, this shakiness and fracturing goes even deeper. According to my calculations, more than 40% of voters jumped ship from one party to another on the right in the last three elections, causing a great deal of instability. The votes that broke off from the two main parties on the center-right did not go to each other. Then, we saw initially the rise of the Welfare Party (RP) and the Felicity Party (SP), and then of the MHP. Now the AKP’s star is rising even more, in part by attracting such leftist stalwarts as Murat Basesgioglu and Koksal Toptan. From now on, the AKP is a party on the center-right and the more it grows, the more it will squeeze out the MHP, the DYP and ANAP. Why is the CHP, an opposition party, rising so much while the DYP is finding it hard to do the same? Ciller must be thinking hard about this. The DYP’s administrators labeling the AKP ‘more dangerous’ than its previous partner (the defunct RP) won’t stop its rise, either. However, it shouldn’t be forgotten that votes attracted in such a short period of time might desert the AKP just as quickly because their alliance is thin. On the other hand, the AKP might shock ANAP and the DYP in these elections. If a shock of poll failures occurs in these elections, this situation might inevitably cause a restructuring on the center-right. Even if the right has been unable to establish its own Dervis figure, remember that nature abhors a vacuum.” 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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