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Turkish Press Review, 02-09-12Turkish 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 morning12.09.2002FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…CONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT: “YILMAZ SAID THAT POSTPONING THE ELECTIONS WAS INEVITABLE”Speaking to reporters after his Tuesday meeting with Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that Yilmaz had told him a postponement of November’s elections was inevitable. “Yilmaz didn’t explicitly demand a postponement, but said that it couldn’t be avoided,” Ecevit stated. “But I told him that if the Nationalist Action Party [MHP] quits the government at this point [per Yilmaz’s demands], such a move would hurt the economy.” He added that Yilmaz’s problem couldn’t be Turkey’s European Union membership bid, since there was no reason for Turkey to be swayed from this goal. “The entire nation stands behind our EU bid,” remarked Ecevit. Asked what would happen should ANAP leave the government, Ecevit said that the minority government would then do its best to lead the country. He added, however, that Parliament would have the final say on the matter. /Milliyet/[02] YILMAZ: “THERE WAS A MISUNDERSTANDING”Speaking at his party’s Executive Board meeting yesterday, Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz said that he had no intention whatsoever of trying to postpone elections scheduled for Nov. 3 and that Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit had completely misunderstood his intentions. Yilmaz stated that at his meeting with the prime minister on Tuesday he had merely proposed establishing a new government, one fully committed to the objective of European Union membership, on the grounds that the coalition partner Nationalist Action Party (MHP) was trying to hinder efforts to implement the harmonization laws adopted earlier this summer. /Cumhuriyet/[03] BAHCELI CRITICIZES YILMAZFollowing Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz’s statements Tuesday that the current government could no longer serve due to the Nationalist Action Party’s (MHP) judicial appeal of four European Union harmonization laws, MHP leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday harshly criticized Yilmaz. At a press conference, Bahceli claimed that a “great game and conspiracy” were being played on Turkey and Turkish people. Stressing that Yilmaz was scrounging for reasons to postpone the Nov. 3 elections whatever the cost and bring down the current government in the process, Bahceli said, “Certain circles are in a great panic, as they know that the forthcoming elections will spell their end.” Bahceli remarked that if ANAP withdraws from the government, the MHP would continue to serve with its remaining partner. /Turkiye/[04] GUREL: “TURKEY UNDERSTANDS THE US’ GRIEF OVER SEPT. 11 LIKE NO OTHER NATION”Turkey itself suffered under a years-long terrorist campaign, and thus is in a unique position to understand the pain and sorrow the United States felt after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel in a letter of condolence sent to US Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday. “The Turkish people were shocked by these terrorist attacks and felt a tremendous sorrow,” Gurel added in his message to mark the attacks’ first anniversary. /Aksam/[05] CILLER: “THE DYP IS OPPOSED TO POSTPONING ELECTIONS”True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller said yesterday that her party would take no part in scenarios aimed at postponing the Nov. 3 elections. At a joint press conference in Parliament held with Democratic Turkey Party (DTP) leader Mehmet Ali Bayar, Ciller commented on recent discussions concerning the postponement of early elections. “As the DYP has been calling for elections for over three years,” Ciller said, “now our supporting such efforts is out of question.” Stressing that postponing the elections would not serve Turkey’s interests, Ciller stated, “We will not allow certain circles to postpone elections, whatever models are proposed for the formation of a new government.” In addition, pointing to the DYP and DTP’s alliance for the early elections, Ciller said that the two parties had taken the first step towards an important cooperation and also signalled a unification on the center-right. /Turkiye/[06] YSK CHAIR: “ELECTIONS WILL BE HELD IN NOVEMBER AS SCHEDULED”Supreme Election Board (YSK) Chairman Tufan Algan said yesterday that recent political developments would have no effect on elections being held on their scheduled date, Nov. 3. Algan stated that even if a government coalition partner withdrew or a crisis ensued, the elections would not be postponed. “Under the Constitution, a government stays in power until the next one is sworn in,” he added. “If the current government serves until the new one takes the reins, the election schedule will take place as planned.” /Aksam/[07] TURKEY TO ASK FOR IMF LOAN ADVANCEDuring Economy Minister Masum Turker’s visit to Washington, DC set for Sept. 25, Turkish officials are expected to ask the International Monetary Fund to disburse a $1.6 billion loan tranche earlier than scheduled. The reason for this request, said the officials yesterday, is the looming general elections scheduled for Nov. 3. /Cumhuriyet/[08] CB GOVERNOR: “SHORT-TERM FIXES COULD LEAD TO NEW CRISES”Speaking at the opening of the sixth International Economy Congress in Istanbul yesterday, Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti said that applying short-term fixes to Turkey’s economy would run the risk of causing new crises. “The solutions to our problems lie in the establishment of sound financial policies,” he added. Serdengecti also said that a number of reforms and new fiscal policies enacted by the government were working to cushion the economy against shocks and crises. /Star/[09] KUTAN: “THE SP WANTS ELECTIONS TO BE HELD IN NOVEMBER”Felicity Party (SP) leader Recai Kutan said yesterday that his party wanted elections to be held in November as scheduled, the efforts of some political parties not withstanding. Kutan added that he had yet to decide whether or not to push a censure motion which his party previously submitted against the coalition government. /Milliyet/[10] BBP TO STAND BY ITSELF IN ELECTIONSEfforts to form an alliance of the Felicity Party (SP) and the Great Union Party (BBP) for the November elections have been broken off, involved officials said yesterday. The SP reportedly rejected a plan under which joint candidate lists would place BBP candidates first in 40 provinces and second in others. BBP leader Muhsin Yazioglu said that his party would enter the elections under its own banner, without any alliance. /Turkiye/[11] KONONOV: “TURKISH BUSINESSMEN SHOULD INVEST IN RUSSIA”Valeri Ivanovic Kononov, secretary-general of the Turkish-Russian Business Council and counselor to the Russian Trade Ministry, yesterday told the Bursa Chamber of Trade Industry (BTSO) during a visit that Turkish businessmen should put their money in Russia. “We call on Turkish businessmen to visit and invest in Russia,” Kononov said. Kononov also stated that relations between Turkey and Russia should not be based on trade alone. /Sabah/[12] TURKEY TO STORE EXCESS NATURAL GASTurkish energy officials announced yesterday a plan under which imported natural gas exceeding the national demand would be stored in underwater depots beneath the Sea of Marmara. The plan would eliminate large compensation payments Turkey has been making to Russia and Iran, incurred whenever Turkey failed to purchase an amount of natural gas specified in contractual agreements. /Aksam/[13] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…[14] ONE YEAR LATER… BY IZZET SEDES (AKSAM)Columnist Izzet Sedes writes on developments in the wake of last year’s Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. A summary of his column is as follows:“A full year has passed, but still the world hasn’t been able to recover from the shock of the devastating Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The American people yesterday marked the first anniversary of the tragedy by holding ceremonies and remembrances. They remember everything, and their painful memories are keeping their lost loved ones alive. This year, the US has showed the world that it won’t easily be deterred from its fight against terrorism. The Sept. 11 attacks, in fact, strengthened George W. Bush’s position both as a world leader and as US president. Today we live in a very different world. The attacks have, in fact, dramatically altered the power balances and international relations all around the world. The US no longer hesitates to clearly express its views on a number of sensitive issues such as Iraq. ‘Do whatever you think is right!’ is the catchword of the new America. Washington doesn’t shrink from acting at will no matter what its allies think or believe. However, the US still has deficiencies in its foreign policy. A number of goals continue to elude Bush. He has failed to capture bin Laden, whom he declared he wanted ‘dead or alive,’ and the Al Queda terrorist group is still threatening the world. In the wake of Sept. 11 attacks, the most important changes have taken place in the Middle East. After the collapse of Taleban regime, a new government under the guardianship of the Bush administration was established in Afghanistan. Recognizing the fact that the US is the greatest power in the world, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf stopped supporting the Taleban. Musharraf is now standing by the Bush administration. The issue of Iraq is currently another hotly debated issue among world leaders. The American nation sees Bush’s attempts to overthrow Iraqi leader Saddam as an inevitable part of their legitimate fight against terrorism, since Saddam’s drive to acquire weapons of mass destruction and develop nuclear weapons are well known by the world. However, the US should act calmly and think carefully before making such a dangerous move which might easily upset all power balances in the world. Such a restrained US Iraq policy would also be beneficial for Turkey.” [15] HOW WAS TURKEY AFFECTED BY SEPT. 11? BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen comments on how Turkey was affected by the developments in the wake of Sept. 11. A summary of his column is as follows:“In the immediate wake of last Sept. 11’s terrorist attacks, Turkey was the leading country to react against them, to condemn them and state its forthright opposition to terrorism. For Turkey, which suffered for many years from terrorist attacks and struggled against them often alone and bereft of support, nothing would be more natural than showing such a consistent manner. In one respect, the shock of Sept. 11 opened the eyes of the US, Europe and the international community in general to the threat of terrorism. Things that Turkey had said for many years suddenly were echoed worldwide by every nation. Following the disasters in New York and Washington, Ankara argued anew that terrorism should be considered a danger for humanity in all its racial, religious, ideological and national varieties, and it thus called for international solidarity and cooperation in the face of this menace. One of the effects of Sept. 11 which Turkey can see as a silver lining is obviously the important change in the conventional understanding concerning terrorism. The steps taken towards more international cooperation against terrorism have strengthened Ankara’s position on the issue. Meanwhile, it was an advantage for Turkey that the fifth article of NATO, stating that ‘an attack against any one of us is considered an attack against all of us, ’ had been reformulated in a way to include the terrorism issue as well. The advantages felt by Turkey in developments after those terrible attacks can be summed up as follows: Turkey’s geo-strategic location -- particularly in the eyes of the US -- gained much more value. Turkish-American relations entered a stage of a ‘strategic cooperation.’ Consequently, ensuring the support of the International Monetary Fund became easier. * Turkey gained a more prominent role on the international stage and particularly in the sensitive geographical region where it is situated. Turkish diplomacy played this role especially in Afghanistan, and the Turkish army undertook the leadership of the ISAF peacekeeping force there. In addition, Turkey played a role in the restructuring of Afghanistan. * On this altered playing field, Turkey was held up as an example to the Islamic world for its democratic, secular system of government. In the US, the ‘Turkish model’ was presented as a source of inspiration under which Muslim countries could be developed and modernized. Certain needed measures taken by the US and various European countries to better combat terrorism served to justify Ankara’s own policies towards this end. In other words, the West’s decision to shut down groups supporting terrorism and enact certain restrictions to ensure security provided Turkey with the opportunity to more comfortably defend its own arguments. In spite of these developments, certain events following the Sept. 11 attacks weren’t so much in Turkey’s favor. For example, the placing of Iraq and Iran, two neighbors Ankara is trying to normalize relations with, on the ‘evil axis’ as declared by the Bush administration. Washington’s policies towards these countries run counter to Turkey’s interests and have also put Ankara in a difficult situation. The unilateralism shown even more by Washington after Sept. 11 is creating uneasiness in Ankara, just as in the capitals of other allies. However, one can generally say that the developments in the wake of Sept. 11’s terrible attacks ironically worked in Turkey’s favor.” 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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