|
|
|
Turkish Press Review, 03-12-04
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
04.12.03
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this
morning
CONTENTS
[01] US COMMANDER VISITS TURKEY
[02] AL QAEDA-ATTRIBUTED STATEMENT DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN ISTANBUL ATTACKS
[03] SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL TO CONVENE TODAY
[04] CICEK: “TERRORISM IS CONTRARY TO ISLAM”
[05] SECOND CUSTOMS GATE PLANNED FOR TURKEY-IRAQ BORDER
[06] ERDOGAN: “IF TURKEY DOESN’T JOIN THE EU, IT WON’T BE THE END OF THE WORLD”
[07] GUL: “VERHEUGEN’S STATEMENTS ARE UNACCEPTABLE”
[08] DENKTAS: “VERHEUGEN IS TRYING TO SIGNAL TURKISH CYPRIOTS TO VOTE FOR THE OPPOSITION”
[09] INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DISABLED OBSERVED
[10] SECOND INDUSTRIAL CONGRESS CONVENES
[11] NOVEMBER INFLATION FIGURES RELEASED
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[13] THE LOIZIDU PRECEDENT BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
[01] US COMMANDER VISITS TURKEY
US Joint Chiefs of Staff Deputy Chairman Gen. Peter Pace, who is currently
paying a visit to Ankara at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Gen.
Ilker Basbug, yesterday met with Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok.
After a meeting with Turkish and US delegations, Pace attended a lunch
given in his honor. Then Pace proceeded to Adana for an inspection tour of
NATO’s Incirlik Airbase, where US troops are stationed. /Aksam/
[02] AL QAEDA-ATTRIBUTED STATEMENT DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN ISTANBUL ATTACKS
A statement sent yesterday to the media allegedly by the terrorist network
al Qaeda denied that it had been involved in last month’s deadly terror
attacks in Istanbul. This was a reversal of earlier al Qaeda-attributed
avowals of responsibility. “Al Qaeda has never carried out any attacks
targeting civilians,” said the statement. “It has no link either with the
Sept. 11 attacks, nor the attacks on Bali, Casablanca, or Riyadh, nor the
recent ones in Istanbul.” Claiming that the Sept. 11 attacks were linked to
the US Pentagon and CIA and Israel’s Mossad rather than al Qaeda, the
statement underlined however that the current resistance in Iraq against US
forces was organized and carried out by al Qaeda. /Turkiye/
[03] SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL TO CONVENE TODAY
The Supreme Military Council (YAS) chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan is set to convene today. The members of the council are expected to
take up matters concerning the Turkish Armed Forces’ (TSK) personnel,
training and discipline. /Turkiye/
[04] CICEK: “TERRORISM IS CONTRARY TO ISLAM”
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, who is currently holding a series of official
contacts in Washington, yesterday told reporters that there were no words
in either the Holy Koran or spoken by the Prophet Mohammed that allowed or
condoned terrorism. “Some people [committing terrorist acts] may believe
that they are acting in the name of Islam,” said Cicek, adding that they
were very much mistaken, as terrorism was contrary to Islam’s teachings.
/Star/
[05] SECOND CUSTOMS GATE PLANNED FOR TURKEY-IRAQ BORDER
Meetings between Turkish and Iraqi delegations held at the request of
Iraq’s Governing Council were completed yesterday. After the meetings,
Foreign Trade Undersecretary Tuncer Kayalar said that bilateral trade
relations had been discussed, with both sides agreeing to begin talks this
month on opening a second border gate. He added that problems at the Habur
Customs Gate and measures necessary to eliminate them had also been
discussed. /Turkiye/
[06] ERDOGAN: “IF TURKEY DOESN’T JOIN THE EU, IT WON’T BE THE END OF THE
WORLD”
Speaking yesterday at the 19th Regular Congress of the Confederation of
Turkish Workers’ Unions, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that for
the last year Turkey had seen a determined and consistent administration
under Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule and that the economy had
also started to function properly. Touching on the Cyprus issue, Erdogan
said that unilateral concessions were not acceptable since there were two
languages, two nations and two religions on the island. He also said that
should Turkey not join the European Union, it wouldn’t be the end of the
world, as the nation would still continue its course. “We are implementing
the Copenhagen criteria to raise the nation’s standard of living,” added
Erdogan. /Aksam/
[07] GUL: “VERHEUGEN’S STATEMENTS ARE UNACCEPTABLE”
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday flew to Brussels to attend the NATO
foreign ministers’ fall meeting. Speaking to reporters before departing,
Gul said that European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Verheugen’s
recent statements indicating the EU wanted an opposition victory in
upcoming Turkish Cypriot elections were unacceptable, calling the words
“unfortunate.” Gul added that Turkey was doing its utmost to help reach a
resolution on Cyprus. /Sabah/
[08] DENKTAS: “VERHEUGEN IS TRYING TO SIGNAL TURKISH CYPRIOTS TO VOTE FOR
THE OPPOSITION”
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas yesterday
charged that recent statements by European Union Commissioner for
Enlargement Guenter Verheugen had hurt efforts for a resolution on the
island. Verheugen was quoted on Tuesday as saying that the EU would
recognize the results of the TRNC’s Dec. 14 elections, but only in case of
an opposition victory. “Verheugen has once again raised doubts as to
whether or not he really favors a resolution,” said Denktas. “He is trying
to tell the Turkish Cypriots to vote for opposition parties which support
the Annan plan, but our nation doesn’t care for interference.” Denktas
added that Turkish Cypriot citizens had worked long for their freedom and
that the European Union should appreciate this. He further stated that the
EU had committed a great error by accepting Greek Cyprus, as that this
action would make reaching a resolution on the island more difficult. In
related news, Verheugen’s spokesman Jean-Christophe Filori yesterday denied
that Verheugen had said that the EU would recognize TRNC elections only in
case of opposition victory. /Turkiye/
[09] INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DISABLED OBSERVED
On the occasion of the International Day of the Disabled, President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer yesterday received handicapped citizens coming from 81
provinces throughout Turkey. Speaking at the reception, Sezer pointed to
the importance of special training for the disabled, calling for the
integration of handicapped individuals into society. In related news, Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a gathering in Ankara that his
government placed great importance on the sensitive matter, adding that it
was working on new legal arrangements to raise standards of living for the
handicapped. /Turkiye/
[10] SECOND INDUSTRIAL CONGRESS CONVENES
During the current Second Industrial Congress organized by the Istanbul
Chamber of Industry (ISO), economic issues were discussed. In a message
sent to the congress, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his
government would try to solve issues troubling the industrialists and
continue to support them so they can compete in foreign markets. Pointing
also to the recent terrorist attacks in Istanbul, speakers at the congress
called on all countries worldwide to cooperate in the fight against
terrorism. /Hurriyet/
[11] NOVEMBER INFLATION FIGURES RELEASED
The State Institute of Statistics (DIE) yesterday released month-on-month
inflation figures for November. Inflation last month was 1.7% on the
wholesale price index (WPI) and 1.6% on the consumer price index (CPI),
pushing year-to-year WPI to 19.3% and CPI to 16.2%. This year’s annual
inflation target is 20%. /All papers/
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[13] THE LOIZIDU PRECEDENT BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
Columnist Fikret Bila comments on the court-ordered compensation paid this
week by Turkey to Titina Loizidou, a Greek Cypriot citizen. A summary of
his column is as follows:
“This week Turkey paid 1.12 million euros as compensation to Titina
Loizidou, a Greek Cypriot citizen. Thus, the European Court of Human
Rights’ (ECHR) verdict was carried through. When Ankara agreed to pay the
compensation, it got a promise from the European Council’s Secretariat
General that this trial wouldn’t set a precedent. This promise was recorded,
and some people consider this record a victory for Turkey and the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). But the same atmosphere of victory can
be seen in Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration. The Greek Cypriots
consider the result a win for themselves.
Normally it’s unusual for both sides to claim victory. Of course time will
tell who is really the victor. However, considering the situation for
Turkey and the TRNC, our early declaration of victory might not be
justified. In other words, it’s the European Council’s Secretariat General
which accepted that this trial wouldn’t establish a precedent and this
institution is an executive body, which means its decisions don’t bind the
judiciary. It’s the court which makes the decision. One day the ECHR might
say that the secretariat’s administrative decision doesn’t bind us and
might consider the decision a precedent.
In addition, the Loizidu case is based on the idea that Turkey is an
invader on Cyprus. Turkey is now in a situation through paying compensation
of having accepted the accusation of ‘invader.’ At least Greece and the
Greek Cypriot administration would interpret the situation this way. It’s
not difficult to guess that the European Union would agree with this
interpretation. However, Turkey’s military presence there during the Cyprus
Peace Operation is based on international agreements. It intervened through
its role as guarantor state. Turkey and the TRNC shouldn’t give up their
efforts to find political solutions to the problem.”
|
