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Turkish Press Review, 03-08-18Turkish 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> e-mail : newspot@byegm.gov.tr <caption> <_caption> Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning18.08.2003FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] SEZER, BAYKAL, OTHER DIGNITARIES ATTEND HACIBEKTAS FESTIVALPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday attended the annual Hacibektas Veli Commemoration Festival of Culture and Art in the central province of Nevsehir. Also present at the festival were Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, Deputy Parliament Speaker Yilmaz Ates, Culture and Tourism Minister Erkan Mumcu, Supreme Court Chief Justice Eraslan Ozkaya, Prime Ministry Undersecretary Fikret Uccan, Presidential Secretary General Kemal Nehrozoglu, and numerous deputies from both the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the opposition CHP. /All papers/[02] FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF AUG. 17 EARTHQUAKE OBSERVEDThe fourth anniversary of the devastating Aug. 17, 1999 earthquake centered in Golcuk in Turkey’s northwest was observed yesterday. At Barbaros Hayreddin High School, balloons were released and there was a candlelight ceremony to honor the spirit of the quake’s victims. At 3:02 a.m., when four years ago the massive 7.4-magnitude quake began, a minute of silence was observed. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer also issued a message to mark the anniversary, urging that Turkey never forget the lessons of the quake, which took some 17,000 lives and left thousands of families homeless. /All papers/[03] TWO US CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATIONS DUE IN TURKEY THIS WEEKTwo delegations from the United States Senate and House of Representatives are scheduled to pay separate visits to Turkey this week to discuss the issues of eliminating the terrorist PKK_KADEK presence from northern Iraq as well as Turkey’s possibly sending troops to Iraq. The delegations led by Senator Richard Lugar and Representative John Murtha are set to meet with officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Defense as well as the General Staff. /Hurriyet/[04] ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER FRATTINI: “TURKEY’S PLACE IS IN THE EU”Turkey’s destiny inevitably lies in the European Union, said Franco Frattini, the foreign minister of current EU Term President Italy, over the weekend. Speaking to Greek daily Kathimerini, Frattini said that Turkey’s place in European history was undeniable, adding that religion should be an element leading to greater cooperation, not division. “I believe that Turkey’s will to join the Union is important, and Italy supports it,” he said. “We should encourage the Turkish government, especially since it has recently passed a number of reforms.” He further praised the efforts of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to reach a resolution between the Turkish and Greek states on Cyprus. /All papers/[05] AGAR: “THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD SHARE INFORMATION ON POSSIBLE TROOP DEPLOYMENT IN IRAQ”The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government should share with Parliament’s other political parties whatever information it has on the prospect of Turkish troop deployment in Iraq, said True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar over the weekend. Stating that Turkey was the most important country in the Middle East, Agar added that Ankara should not allow any political order threatening the nation’s interests to be established in the region. /Cumhuriyet/[06] POLICE SEEK FIVE UZAN FAMILY MEMBERS IN IMAR BANK CORRUPTION CASEAn Istanbul public prosecutor issued arrest warrants over the weekend for five members of the controversial Uzan family, including family patriarch Kemal Uzan and his son Hakan, plus seven non-related individuals, all on corruption charges concerning Imar Bank. Turkey’s banking authority seized the bank early last month. Cem Uzan, who is active in the family’s business plus a national political figure as leader of the Young Party (GP), is not among those sought by the police. An operation to apprehend the suspects was launched last night but no one has been taken into custody as of yet, said an unnamed police officer. The Uzans, one of Turkey’s wealthiest and most prominent families with a business empire ranging from the media and cell phone networks to the energy sector, have been facing mounting lawsuits and misconduct allegations at home and abroad in recent months. /Cumhuriyet/[07] CHICAGO TO CELEBRATE FIRST ANNUAL TURKISH FESTIVALChicago, Illinois, the US Midwest’s largest city and home to nearby 15,000 ethnic Turks, will proudly host the first annual Chicago Turkish Festival on September 15-17 at Daley Plaza, the heart of the city’s downtown. The special event will feature exhibits by Turkish-American artists, authentic Anatolian food from doner to baklava, and a fashion show spanning Ottoman times to today’s catwalk. A group of famous whirling dervishes will also perform. Some 300,000 people are expected to attend the festival, which is co-sponsored by the Turkish-American Culture Alliance (TACA) and the Turkish Consulate in Chicago. For more information, visit http://www.chicagoturkishfestival.com. /All papers, http:__www.tacaonline.org /[08] LONDON’S TURKISH TEXTILE FAIR TO OPEN TOMORROWThe Second Turkish Textile Products Fair organized by the Istanbul Textile and Raw Fibers Association (ITHIB) is set to open in London tomorrow. Over 60 Turkish companies are expected to participate in the fair. /Anatolia News Agency/[09] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS[10] WE FORGOT AFGHANISTAN BY ZEYNEP GURCANLI (STAR)Columnist Zeynep Gurcanli comments on the situation in Afghanistan and her view that Ankara is neglecting the country. A summary of her column is as follows:“Let me share with you my impressions of Afghanistan, which I recently visited for a week, with results that reflect badly on Turkey. Almost everywhere in Afghanistan you hear complaints about Turkey, because after we turned over command of the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) early this year, Ankara’s interest in this country fell sharply. And they have good reason to complain. Other countries are still very active in Afghanistan. The capital Kabul is hosting Western delegations, and high- ranking European officials are holding meetings to establish business ties. The German airlines have even started to fly to Kabul; in contrast, Turkish Airlines (THY) is doing nothing. The active figures in Kabul are Turkish businessmen, mostly contractors who have already won bids totaling $250-300 million. They emphasize that there is great deal of work to do in Afghanistan and that our government should work harder to promote Turkey’s private sector there. Let’s also talk about the military a little. The Turkish Army is still represented in the ISAF with a unit of nearly 200 soldiers. This unit not only meets its own needs, but also the needs of people in the region. One day our soldiers built a park for the Afghan children. Actually this is what Afghanistan was waiting for, namely people who don’t shrink from hugging and touching them despite the misery and dirt coming from 30 years of almost ceaseless war. We hope that the Turkish Embassy personnel in Afghanistan and our soldiers won’t hesitate to help and hug the Afghan people.” [11] IRAQ AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY BY NEVVAL SEVINDI (ZAMAN)Columnist Nevval Sevindi writes on Turkey’s Iraq policy. A summary of her column is as follows:“Parliament is due to begin its new legislative year next month and will debate then whether or not to send Turkish troops to Iraq. In an attempt to avoid another disappointment with the US, this time the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will probably manage to pass a bill authorizing deployment troop there. As a matter of fact, the General Staff Office has already sped up its preparations to deploy approximately 10,000 soldiers. Here I’d like to run down a number of points concerning the Iraq policy which I believe should be pursued by our government: We should launch new initiatives in the region: Our governments have avoided taking responsibilities in pursuing our Middle East policies. We cannot remain mere onlookers to what is happening at our neighbor’s. However, the AKP government has failed to develop a comprehensive Iraq policy. This situation should be corrected immediately. Turkey should develop global projects: Our government should develop global policies and projects while disdaining such movements as political Islam and ultra-nationalist or leftist circles opposed to globalization. If we can’t keep up with recent global developments, our country will always lag behind the West. In fact, Turkey is experienced enough to develop projects in coordination with both the US and the European Union although it has yet to join the Union’s ranks. If we can overcome our fears and inferiority complex, our country will then attain the global prestige it deserves. Domestic squabbles should end: Our famous secular-Islamist conflict should be brought to an immediate halt, as it precludes us from promoting our humanist and moderate Islamic culture to the rest of the world. Isolationist nationalism is harming our country: The anti-American ideas which gained strength and currency during the recent crises are harmful to our national interests. An anti-US attitude will only present obstacles to our developing sound and reasonable policies. It’s high time for us to develop visionary projects and policies. Even well- known German philosopher Jurgen Habermas told the recent World Philosophy Congress in Istanbul that countries needed such projects. ‘The US should participate in such an extensive global project,’ he urged. ‘If a new global system tries to exclude the US, this will only feed the American aggression.’ Now that it enjoys an unassailable sway in Parliament, let’s see what the AKP government will do in such challenging circumstances.” 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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