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Turkish Press Review, 04-03-05Turkish 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 morning05.03.2004ERDOGAN: “WE DON’T WANT TO RAISE TENSION IN OUR COUNTRY” DENKTAS: “I COULD QUIT NEGOTIATIONS TO CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE UN PLAN” DENKTAS MEETS WITH ERDOGAN, GUL TO DISCUSS NEGOTIATIONS TALAT: “AVOIDING INTERCESSION BY ANKARA AND ATHENS WILL BE DIFFICULT” PACT SIGNED FOR WATER SALES TO ISRAEL TURKISH TRADE DELEGATION VISITS SYRIA COSKUN: “INVESTMENTS IN TURKEY WILL RISE” TOBB CHAIRMAN URGES MORE INVESTMENT IN UNDERDEVELOPED REGIONS PACT SIGNED FOR 250 MILLION EURO EIB LOAN TO TURKISH SMEs WB’S VORKINK: “IF ASKED BY ANKARA, WE COULD ASSIST IN JUDICIAL REFORM EFFORTS” US PREPARES $250 MILLION AID PACKAGE FOR CYPRUS FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS NOT A DATE, BUT NEGOTIATIONS BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET) EUROPE, ISLAM AND NATIONALISM BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN: “WE DON’T WANT TO RAISE TENSION IN OUR COUNTRY”Prime Minister and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday continued campaigning for March 28 local elections in the central Anatolian cities of Afyon and Eskisehir. Speaking to packed campaign rallies, Erdogan said that his government didn’t want to raise tension in Turkey. “We must ensure peace and unity in our country,” said the premier. “Don’t pay any heed to those trying to sow the seeds of separation among us.” Pointing to the historic single-digit inflation rate announced this week, Erdogan touted his government’s success during its 18 months in power. /Turkiye/[02] DENKTAS: “I COULD QUIT NEGOTIATIONS TO CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE UN PLAN”Addressing an Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) conference yesterday, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas said that his point of view on the United Nations Cyprus plan hadn’t changed, adding that if there was a deadlock in the current negotiations, he could walk away to campaign against the plan’s acceptance in an April referendum. “We want to get certain changes in the plan,” stated Denktas. “If we’re unable to get them, then we will urge the nation to reject the plan in the referendum.” The plan in its current form would mean the “destruction of the Turkish Cypriots,” Denktas charged. He added that he was opposed to pressure on the island’s two sides to reach a resolution by May, as doing so would be difficult. Greek Cyprus is scheduled to join the European Union on May 1. /Cumhuriyet/[03] DENKTAS MEETS WITH ERDOGAN, GUL TO DISCUSS NEGOTIATIONSVisiting Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas yesterday met separately with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to discuss the ongoing negotiations over the island. Speaking after meeting with Gul, Denktas said that he would do his best to reach a resolution by May, when Greek Cyprus is scheduled to join the European Union. Denktas complained of the Greek Cypriot administration’s “intransigence” in rejecting all his propoed changes to the United Nations Cyprus plan. For his part, Gul said that the two sides were trying to reach an agreement in light of the realities of the island, adding that doing so by May was their aim. In related news, later, appearing on television after his meeting with Denktas, Erdogan called his meeting with Denktas “very positive.” He also charged the Greek Cypriots with a failure to negotiate in good will, adding that the TRNC would never retreat on certain “sine qua non” issues. /Aksam/[04] TALAT: “AVOIDING INTERCESSION BY ANKARA AND ATHENS WILL BE DIFFICULT”Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat warned yesterday that negotiators on Cyprus reaching an agreement on all issues by March 22, when Ankara and Athens are due to intercede, would be quite difficult. “I believe that we will agree on some issues, but not all, by that target date,” added Talat. /Aksam/[05] PACT SIGNED FOR WATER SALES TO ISRAELFollowing two years of negotiations between Turkey and Israel, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal and his Israeli counterpart yesterday signed an agreement to sell water from Turkey’s Manavgat River to Israel. Under the agreement, 50 million cubic meters of water will be transported annually to Israel over a 20-year period. /Turkiye/[06] TURKISH TRADE DELEGATION VISITS SYRIAState Minister Kursad Tuzmen accompanied by a delegation of 200, including deputies, bureaucrats and businessmen, yesterday traveled to Syria. Before his departure, Tuzmen told reporters he hoped to discuss bilateral economic ties with Syrian officials, with an eye towards strengthening them. The delegation is expected to meet with President Bashar al-Assad and Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otari as well as other high-level officials. /Turkiye/[07] COSKUN: “INVESTMENTS IN TURKEY WILL RISE”The months and years to come see a rise in investments in Turkey, predicted Industry and Trade Minister Ali Coskun yesterday. Speaking at the 18th International Optical Products Fair in Istanbul, Coskun said that after the righting of macroeconomic balances in 2003, this year would be one of rising investments. Referring to the chronic crises of years past, he added, “We’ve overcame most of the hurdles [of these crises], and we’re determined to tackle the others.” /Turkiye/[08] TOBB CHAIRMAN URGES MORE INVESTMENT IN UNDERDEVELOPED REGIONSTurkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu yesterday urged increased investments in Turkey’s less-developed regions. “We need to invest more in provinces where per capita income is under $1,500,” said Hisarciklioglu. “But first we need to draw up a strategy for boosting these investments.” /Milliyet/[09] PACT SIGNED FOR 250 MILLION EURO EIB LOAN TO TURKISH SMEsEuropean Investment Bank (EIB) President Philippe Maystadt and State Minister Ali Babacan yesterday signed an agreement for the EIB to lend 250 million euros to the Turkish private sector and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Babacan said that the loan would be distributed through the Turkish Industrial Development Bank (TSKB), Vakifbank, the Turkish Development Bank (TKB), Halkbank and Ziraatbank. /Hurriyet/[10] WB’S VORKINK: “IF ASKED BY ANKARA, WE COULD ASSIST IN JUDICIAL REFORM EFFORTS”World Bank Turkey Director Andrew Vorkink yesterday said that the WB might provide financial and technical assistance to Turkey’s judicial reforms if Ankara requested it. Stressing that anti-corruption efforts and establishing transparency were both very important for establishing a robust and efficient business environment, Vorkink added that the WB was ready to provide assistance to the Turkish government in these areas. He also stated that the WB had never insisted on the privatization of state banks but rather had presented Ankara with a number of options for overcoming major hurdles in the banking sector, only one of which was privatization. /Hurriyet/[11] US PREPARES $250 MILLION AID PACKAGE FOR CYPRUSAn initiative is underway in Washington to revive an aid package for Cyprus which was first discussed over 15 years ago, when President Ronald Reagan was in office. The proposal never went forward at that time since an agreement on the island was lacking. But recently the US House of Representatives resurrected the proposal, which envisages a $250 million grant for use in Cyprus’ “peace and restructuring” process. In addition, Special US Cyprus Envoy Thomas Weston has also signalled that Washington is ready to provide financial assistance to the Cyprus peace process. /Turkiye/[12] FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS[13] NOT A DATE, BUT NEGOTIATIONS BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on Turkey’s prospects for receiving a date for European Union membership negotiations. A summary of her column is as follows:“Journalist Zeynep Lule was recently in Istanbul with a group of journalists from leading dailies across Europe. These European journalists first went to Ankara and met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. They all said that they were impressed by the government’s determination. Recently the EU started to give us some hope and optimism on our membership bid. Their messages have been optimistic, but there’s an important issue in this happiness, namely understanding each other. Europe wants us to implement reforms as soon as possible, that is, ensuring a sound judiciary, a solution to the Cyprus issue, etc. All this still holds. But they haven’t understood us completely, because there’s nothing clear yet on a very sensitive issue. ‘Please don’t talk about a date for membership negotiations,’ warned Lule. Indeed, sometimes there’s even discussion of giving us a date for membership negotiations at top-level meetings. We received a date for a date at the Copenhagen summit last year. If we can fulfill the Copenhagen criteria, the EU will decide at its year-end summit to start membership negotiations with Turkey. We want not a date, but the beginning of negotiations from the EU. I don’t mean that the messages from the EU are insincere. Recently European politicians have started to see that Turkey would boost the EU’s influence in the region. A Europe including Turkey would be stronger in terms of security and foreign policy. We’ve been getting positive signals. However, it’s important to understand the other side’s words and expectations as well as to explain our wishes, so that we’re not disappointed.” [14] EUROPE, ISLAM AND NATIONALISMBY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)Columnist Taha Akyol comments on pluralism in Europe and Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows: “I was talking to French journalist Christophe Midol-Monnet at a recent dinner for foreign reporters thrown by the Dogan Media group. He is general broadcast director for the Euronews TV channel. Midol-Monnet supports Turkey’s European Union membership bid, and his reasoning is this: ‘Turkey’s EU membership as a majority-Muslim country would send an important message from the West to the Islamic world and prevent the rise of Christian fundamentalism in Europe!’ If Turkey joins the Union, then religious pluralism would flourish, thus heading off a growing fundamentalism, says Midol-Monnet, who believes that Christian fundamentalism could rise in Europe in an age of globalization. Yes, what Midol-Monet says is a sociological fact: Differences would encourage tolerance as long as there is no political conflict… The fear that the EU membership process would cause a harder line in Turkey is also little more then paranoia. Aren’t there other factors making Turkey’s EU membership necessary? ‘Turkey is a very large market both for investment and sales,’ he told me. ‘Moreover, Turkey’s strategic importance is better realized now, and Europe needs this…’ According to my French colleague, Turkey has been seen as the United States’ arm in Europe. But after the Iraq war, they realized that this wasn’t the case. The latest reforms have also strengthened Turkey’s ‘democratic’ image. If so, why is French President Jacques Chirac staying silent? ‘There are domestic and external balances he is attending to,’ said Midol-Monnet. ‘But I believe that he will eventually support starting accession negotiations with Turkey.’ Mentioning his leftist credentials, Midol-Monnet added, ‘Your ruling Justice and Development Party [AKP] is a conservative party, but in terms of some issues, like EU membership, democracy and pluralism, it resembles the social democrats of Europe!’ He was right. Could we consider a weak-centered federation with three regions, three languages and three peoples, a la Belgium? I know some Kurdish intellectuals in Turkey favor such a model. I asked Belgian journalist Didier de Lafontaine about this. He laughed. ‘The Belgium model has no secret or a magical formula, and it’s peculiar to Belgium. It’s unthinkable for Turkey. How many Kurds live in Istanbul? This can’t apply to a population which has such a complicated structure.’ It would be a catastrophe if the issue turned into a clash of nationalisms. We’ve again come across the issue of developing shared values that will enable us to live with differences and provide tolerance by shoulder-to-shoulder differences… Midol-Monnet’s thesis about ‘pluralism versus fundamentalism’ is very important; it is also useful for ethnic problems. Globalization creates both a feeling of universalism and a feeling of embracing ethnic, regional and religious roots. It could lead to wealth or else a ‘clash of civilizations.’ In world history, Turkey is a candidate for a role in ‘peace among civilizations.’ Blocking this would enact a severe cost, both in Turkey and Europe as well…” 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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