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Turkish Press Review, 04-10-04Turkish 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 morning04.10.2004FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] IN BERLIN, SCHROEDER PRESENTS QUADRIGA AWARD TO ERDOGANPrime Minister Recep Tayyip, who is currently in Berlin for an official visit, yesterday met with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to discuss a number of issues, including bilateral relations and Turkey’s European Union membership bid. At a ceremony, Schroeder presented the Quadriga Award to Erdogan in recognition of his contributions to democratic reforms. Schroeder expressed support for Ankara to begin its accession talks with the Union, but added that negotiations could last for some time. Speaking at a joint press conference, the German chancellor said that he believed the EU Commission report on Turkey due out on Wednesday would be positive, and urged Ankara to continue its reforms. Later, Erdogan attended a meeting of the Turkish-German Chamber of Industry and Trade. Addressing the gathering, Erdogan said that he expected Berlin would support Ankara beginning its accession talks with the Union and criticized French proposals to subject Turkey’s EU bid to a referendum. The premier stressed that at its December summit, the EU would decide whether or not to give a date to Turkey to begin accession talks, adding that the talks could last anywhere from five to 15 years. /Cumhuriyet/[02] GUL: “THE UPCOMING EU REPORT ON TURKEY IS POSITIVE”Saying yesterday that he had seen a draft of the European Union Commission’s report on Turkey set for release on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul characterized the report as quite positive and reflective of the entire situation. Speaking to reporters after attending the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC)-European Union Joint Forum’s International Symposium in Istanbul, Gul said that the report had been prepared realistically, underlining Ankara’s numerous reforms on the road to EU membership. Asked if Turkey would accept a “conditional date” for membership talks, the foreign minister reiterated that Ankara would reject any such offer. /Turkiye/[03] ERDOGAN PROFILE MAKES COVER OF NEWSWEEKIn a cover story profile in this week’s Newsweek International entitled “A Good European?,” writer Owen Matthews lauds Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as having “come a long way in a short time.” Added the magazine, “Other countries in the region will be inspired to follow Turkey's example – proving to skeptical Europeans, and the world, that Islam is not incompatible with democracy.” /Hurriyet/[04] SPEAKING TO NEW YORK TIMES, ERDOGAN SAYS ANY OFFER LESS THAN FULL EU MEMBERSHIP WOULD BE “UGLY”In an interview with The New York Times published yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan firmly rejected any affiliation with the European Union falling short of full membership. “No member country or candidate country has been offered such a thing or had preconditions placed on their negotiations,” Erdogan told the paper. “It’s just in the case of Turkey that these ideas come forward? No, that would be ugly.” /Star/[05] TALAT CRITICIZES GREEK CYPRIOT EFFORTS TO BLOCK DIRECT EU-TRNC TRADETurkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday criticized Greek Cypriot efforts to prevent direct trade between his nation and the European Union. Talat stressed that the Turkish Cypriots had done their best to reach a settlement on the island and urged his Greek Cypriot neighbors to do the same. /Aksam/[06] GERMAN PAPER PREDICTS POSITIVE EU COMMISSION REPORTGerman daily Bild yesterday predicted that the European Union Commission report on Turkey due out on Wednesday would be a positive one. The newspaper added that Ankara had fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria and that it believed the commission, at the December European Union summit, would propose beginning accession talks with Turkey. /Aksam/[07] BAYKAL, CEM MOVE TOWARDS LEFTIST COALITIONNew Turkey Party (YTP) Leader Ismail Cem yesterday paid a visit to main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, who recently called for a merger between his party and the YTP. During their nearly one-hour meeting, Cem said that he would propose that his party’s assembly evaluate the situation and work intensively for such a merger, adding that it would be a first step towards social democrats coming to power. /Turkiye/[08] STATE RELEASES SEPTEMBER INFLATION FIGURESThe State Institute of Statistics (DIE) yesterday released month-on-month inflation figures for September. Inflation last month was 0.94% on the consumer price index (CPI) and 1.85% on the wholesale price index (WPI), pushing year-to-year CPI to 9% and WPI to 12.5%. /Turkiye/[09] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS[10] EUROPE’S WEAKNESS: CYPRUS BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on the Cyprus issue. A summary of her column is as follows:“Not only the Greek Cypriot administration and Athens, but also the European Union itself is disregarding Turkish Cyprus. The old continent has failed to take effective measures to support the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), despite the promises European leaders made in the wake of the resounding support that the Turkish Cypriots gave to a UN reunification plan earlier this year. Verheugen promised that the Turkish Cypriots would not be punished for supporting the Annan plan. Nevertheless, the EU recently stepped over the line by punishing the Organization of Islamic Conference’s (OIC) recognition of the TRNC as an observer country under the name of ‘The Turkish Cyprus State.’ The EU-OIC Summit which had been expected to begin today in Istanbul was cancelled due to this so- called Cyprus crisis. This shows that for the EU, the Cyprus issue outweighs a gathering of civilizations in the search for peace. The Greek side, which rejected resolving the problem in line with a UN plan, still has the power to create such a crisis. The Greek Cypriot administration hailed the latest developments as a ‘diplomatic victory.’ But for whom? The EU or the Greek Cypriots? Maybe the foreign ministers from Islamic countries didn’t balk loudly at having to cancel their trips to Turkey at the last minute, but this time Europe’s actions really can’t be forgotten. As a matter of fact, Ankara has failed to take advantage of its superior moral position in the wake of the Cyprus referendums. The Erdogan administration has preferred to let the European leaders control the post- referendum process. However, the fact that the Annan plan was developed thanks to a sort of a civil uprising in the TRNC shouldn’t be forgotten. Today, the Cyprus issue is a matter of human rights. Ankara must seek new cooperative efforts with the TRNC to more effectively and efficiently bring this issue to the international stage.” [11] MODERATES, UNITE! BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)Columnist Taha Akyol comments on the weekend Civilizations and Harmony symposium in Istanbul. A summary of his column is as follows:“This weekend I went to the ‘Civilizations and Harmony’ symposium in Istanbul. State Minister Mehmet Aydin mentioned the contributions of religious scholars in Turkey’s history and the Islamic world which was established in line with it. In addition, defending democracy, religious scholar Ahmet Hamdi Akseki said, ‘Universal values belong to all of humanity, and elements of these values are shared by all religions and cultures. However, they reached their current level in Europe. They shouldn’t be called “European values” but “values of humanity”.’ This thesis is a perfect rejoinder to Christian Democrats and the French who try to put limits on Europe’s religion and culture. During a coffee break, Wendy Asbeek Brusse told Aydin, ‘Your views are invaluable to us. We quoted from your works in the conclusion of a report we prepared on Turkey for the Dutch government.’ Johann Galtung, a Norwegian philosopher at the conference, is well read in comparative religion, and cited verses of the Koran, the Bible and the Torah. His basic arguments can be summed up as: ‘World Moderates Unite!’ He said that such values as justice, solidarity, brotherhood and responsibility came from wisdom in the holy books, adding, ‘We shouldn’t preach our values to those who differ from us, but rather first should listen to them.’ Alvaro des Vascencelos from Portugal also criticized the West’s attitude of superiority, saying that a peaceful world can’t be established marginalizing differences. After listening to the speech made by Ahmet Davutoglu, a foreign policy advisor to the prime minister, Galtung said, ‘I congratulate your premier for working with such advisor.’ Actually Davutoglu’s speech deserved the congratulations. Davutoglu said that the winds of peace and freedom had blown in with the collapse of the Berlin Wall but that winds of security and authority followed the Sept. 11 attacks, causing the exclusion of those with differences. ‘There’s the example of Cyprus,’ he added. ‘We used the term ‘state’ in Annan’s report, and so the European ministers boycotted this symposium.’ According to Davutoglu, the West continued its embargo when the Bosnians were being massacred. And there’s still the embargo on Turkish Cypriots, even after they accepted the international community in referendums. The solution of the clash of civilizations lies not in excluding differences, but embracing them. Turkey’s EU membership will become a model of civilization.” 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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