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Turkish Press Review, 04-05-21Turkish 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> e-mail : newspot@byegm.gov.tr <caption> <_caption> Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning21.05.2004FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…CONTENTS
[01] SAAKASVILI SEEKS TURKEY’S SUPPORT FOR GEORGIA’S NATO BIDGeorgian President Mikhail Saakasvili, who is currently paying a visit to Turkey, yesterday met with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Necdet Sezer. In a joint press conference afterwards, Sezer said that they had discussed recent developments in the region and resolved to boost ties between their countries. Underlining that Turkey was watching problems in the region closely, Sezer said he favored working to solve issues through peaceful means. The Turkish president added that he was pleased with Georgia’s support for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project. For his part, Saakasvili thank Ankara for its positive stance during the recent dispute between Georgia and its province of Adzharia and also asked for Turkey’s support for his country’s NATO membership bid. Pointing to a planned railway between the two countries, Saakasvili said that the line could connect Turkey to Central Asia and Georgia to Europe, adding that they would explore financing possibilities for the venture. In the evening, Sezer hosted a banquet at the Cankaya Presidential Palace in honor of the Georgian leader. /Turkiye/[02] PARLIAMENT SPEAKER ARINC CONDEMNS ISRAEL’S ATTACKS ON PALESTINIANSCommenting on Israel’s recent missile strike on Palestinian civilians, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc yesterday condemned the incident as “inhumane.” Upon returning from a European parliament heads meeting in Strasbourg, Arinc told reporters at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport that the attacks constituted a “massacre.” He also called on the US administration to take a firm stance against the attacks. /Turkiye/[03] ERDOGAN CONDEMNS ISRAELI ATTACKS AS “STATE TERROR”Speaking at a press conference before leaving for Romania yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel’s recent attacks against Palestinians, branding them “state terror.” Israeli helicopter and tank attacks on Palestinians protesting at Gaza’s Rafah Refugee Camp killed at least 50 yesterday. The premier also said that the United States had asked for Turkish troops for NATO’s operations in Afghanistan, but that the matter was not yet clear. “The US has requested soldiers for Afghanistan from its allies which didn’t send troops to Iraq,” added Erdogan. /Hurriyet/[04] GUL SEEKS RUSSIAN SUPPORT TO END TRNC’S ISOLATIONForeign Minister Abdullah Gul, who is currently in Moscow for an official visit, yesterday met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss a number of issues, including ending the international isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Speaking afterwards, Lavrov said that he shared Gul’s view that the TRNC’s isolation should be brought to an end. For his part, Gul said that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan should present a report to the UN Security Council urging an end to the isolation. Touching on Turkish-Russian relations, Gul stated that ties between the two countries were growing every day. Asked about whether Ankara had a backup plan if it fails to get a date from the European Union this December to begin accession talks, Gul said that there was no such plan. “We want to begin accession talks in December, since the EU made this decision back in 2002 [to decide at that time],” said Gul. “The EU said it would begin accession talks with Ankara in 2004 after we fulfill the Copenhagen criteria.” Touching on Israel’s recent attacks in Palestinian territory, Gul said, “We strongly condemn Israel. Peace cannot be achieved through such attacks.” Asked about whether the attacks would affect Turkish- Israeli relations, Gul said that they would in fact be felt throughout the region, adding, “They will certainly damage our bilateral relations.” In related news, the Foreign Ministry yesterday urged Israel to end its military operations in Palestine. /Cumhuriyet/[05] FINANCE MINISTER UNAKITAN VISITS BAHRAINContinuing his contacts in Bahrain, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan yesterday met with his Bahraini counterpart Abdullah Hassan and Industry and Trade Minister Ali Saleh al-Saleh. He also visited the Turkish Export Products Exhibition organized by the Istanbul Chamber of Trade (ITO) in the capital Manama with participation of 62 firms. Unakitan told reporters that during his contacts, bilateral trade relations had been taken up, with both sides pledging to develop them further. /Turkiye/[06] TUSIAD HEAD: “THE NATION WILL BENEFIT FROM CONTINUED TIES WITH THE IMF”Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Assosciation (TUSIAD) Chairman Omer Sabanci yesterday urged Ankara to maintain ties with the International Monetary Fund, saying that the nation would benefit from this. He added that the government should continue its structural reforms and budgetary discipline and also praised recent economic developments, cautioning, however that there was still much to do to achieve economic stability. /Aksam/[07] ECONOMIST SURVEY PREDICTS TURKEY WILL JOIN EU IN 2015Turkey will begin its European Union accession negotiations this year and join the bloc in 2015, predicted a group of economists in a new survey. Reuters conducted the survey on May 17-19 among 38 economists. /Aksam/[08] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…[09] IMPRESSIONS OF ROMANIA BY SEDAT ERGIN (HURRIYET)Columnist Sedat Ergin comments on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s current visit to Romania. A summary of his column is as follows:“The first time I visited Romania was in 1978, when then Premier Bulent Ecevit visited Bucharest. Now a quarter century later I’m here again to report on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit. However the once cold and gloomy city now is in change and motion. Back then the standard of living was very low and we had to stay in an old state guesthouse, but today we’re staying at the Grand Plaza hotel. Romania, which suffered terribly until the 1989 overthrow of Nicolae Ceausescu, is now a NATO member, allows the US broad military access to its bases, and is moving towards becoming an outpost of the West. Back when Turkey first applied for full European Union membership in 1987, Romania couldn’t even take a single free breath under the Ceausescu government. But today, Romania is almost guaranteed full EU membership as of 2007. The accession talks between Bucharest and the EU are expected to be completed at the end of this year. Turkey, on the other hand, is trying to get a date this December to start accession talks in 2005. ‘We won’t forget Turkey’s support for Romania’s NATO membership,’ said Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase yesterday. ‘We will also support Turkey’s EU membership.’ Erdogan then gave him a copy of the sword of the Great Stefan, which is in the treasury of the Topkapi Palace, a gesture which heartened Nastase. I later went to the main city square and wondered what it would look like in 10 years, and how Turkey will look then as well.” [10] WHO WILL SAY “STOP”? BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen comments on attacks this week by both the US and Israel. A summary of his column is as follows:“In this latest critical period, the entire Middle East is experiencing its darkest days. The US attacks near the village of Mogr el-Deeb near the Iraqi-Syrian border and the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip’s Rafah Camp showed the similarities between the strategies of two states. These two countries use similar justifications and methods for attacks. Both Israel and the US stated that they had launched these bloody attacks in order to ‘destroy terrorists’ and ‘ensure security’ in the region. The two latest attacks show once again that Israel and Washington act according to a unilateral strategy developed on this basis. This means that both US President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon seem to be determined to continue their policies and completely ignore those who disagree. In fact, Bush is continuing his strategies and methods in spite of opposition inside the US and protests from his allies outside. Similarly, Sharon isn’t changing his policy towards Gaza in spite of domestic opposition and international condemnation. Another similarity between the policies is that both are bogged down in their respective occupations and don’t know how to get out. Washington is facing growing resistance in Iraq and looking for an exit. However, there is little hope to be found. Sharon once planned to leave Gaza, but gave up this idea due to pressure within his own party. How will this vicious circle of violence and revenge be broken? Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent call on world leaders is appropriate and timely. Will the international community take this into consideration and adopt a common political stance? When will both Bush and Sharon understand that their policies are leading nowhere?” 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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