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Turkish Press Review, 04-11-22Turkish 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 morning22.11.2004FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN ATTENDS GROUND-BREAKING CEREMONY IN EDIRNEPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday attended the ground-breaking ceremony for a new Ipekyol-Edirne Production Logistics Center in Edirne. Also present at the ceremony were Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan, Health Minister Recep Akdag, and Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Gulen. Addressing the gathering, Erdogan said that he was bullish about Turkey’s European Union membership bid, adding that even if Ankara fails to get a date at next month’s EU summit to begin its accession talks, it would confidently continue its way. Erdogan also praised Turkish entrepreneurs, saying that their good reputation had spread the world over. /Aksam/[02] DENKTAS: “THE ANNAN PLAN IS DEAD”Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas over the weekend argued that efforts to revive talks on the Annan plan were futile as long as the Greek Cypriot administration is the only legally recognized government on the island. Warning that the idea of federation set out by the UN plan would never work, Denktas added that a confederation which would eventually be transformed into a federation was an idea that might hold promise. /Star/[03] YASAR OKUYAN ELECTED DTP LEADERYasar Okuyan, a former deputy of the Motherland Party (ANAP), was elected leader of the Democratic Turkey Party (DTP) yesterday at the DTP’s fourth extraordinary congress. /Milliyet/[04] TWO TURKISH TRUCK DRIVERS KILLED IN IRAQTwo Turkish drivers were killed in Beyci, northern Iraq yesterday. Police spokesman Hamid Alvan said that their trucks had been burned. /Milliyet/[05] TUZMEN VISITS AFGHANISTANState Minister Kursad Tuzmen, who is currently paying a visit to Kabul, yesterday met with Afghan Trade Minister Seyit Kazimi. After their meeting, Tuzmen said that the two sides had agreed to boost bilateral trade relations as well as joint ventures. Tuzmen also met with the Afghan finance and public works ministers. In addition, he visited Turkish peacekeeping troops deployed in the country and NATO’s representative Hikmet Cetin. /Turkiye/[06] GONUL TRAVELS TO BELGIUMDefense Minister Vecdi Gonul is to attend a European Union defense ministers meeting starting today in Brussels and tomorrow’s European Defense Congress to be held in Berlin. In addition, Gonul is expected to represent Turkey at today’s Western Europe Armament Group/Western Europe Armament Organization Defense Ministers meeting in Brussels. /Star_[07] BABACAN: “TURKEY HAS CARRIED OUT CRUCIAL REFORMS”At a meeting yesterday of G-20 Finance Ministers and national bank governors in Berlin, State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan told reporters that in recent years Turkey had carried out a host of crucial reforms which had also been appreciated by other countries. The reforms, he said had enhanced Turkey’s reputation. “The value of a good reputation cannot be calculated,” said Babacan. Stressing that the finance leaders had discussed international economic developments, Babacan said that next year oil prices were expected to fluctuate or move higher while inflation would fall. The economy minister also held a number of bilateral contacts including ones with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Finance Minister Hans Eichel, as well as a meeting with Rodrigo Rato, managing director of the International Monetary Fund. /Turkiye/[08] IN GERMANY, 25,000 MARCH IN MUSLIM-ORGANIZED DEMONSTRATION AGAINST TERRORISMSome 25,000 Turkish immigrants and Germans marched through Germany's fourth- largest city, Cologne, over the weekend to condemn terrorism and violence by and against Muslims. The demonstration was organized by a group called the Turkish-Islamic Union. The marchers had two starting points – a mosque and a cathedral – and converged in the middle of the city for the event, whose slogan was, "Hand in Hand for Peace and Against Terror." The interior minister of Bavaria, Guenther Beckstein, and Greens Co-Chair Claudia Roth as well as Marieluise Beck, a government expert on migration, refugees and integration, participated in the rally. Worries about how well Muslims are integrated in German society have resurfaced since the Nov. 2 killing of filmmaker Theo van Gogh in the Netherlands, allegedly by an Islamic radical. A wave of anti-Muslim attacks broke out following the incident, prompting fears that violence could spread over other European countries. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder over the weekend said that Europe must take care to avoid being “dragged into a clash of cultures” by such events. Germany has roughly 3.5 million Muslims, mostly of Turkish origin. /Hurriyet/[09] ISTANBUL TO HOST CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN SMEsThe Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (MUSIAD) is set to next month to host a meeting in Istanbul of the CEA-PME, the European Confederation of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). New models for SMEs will be discussed at the Dec. 2-4 meeting, which will be chaired by Small and Medium Industry Development Organization (KOSGEB) head Erkan Gurkan. As the government is taking determined steps on the issue, said MUSIAD Chairman Omer Polat, opportunities are rising for European businessmen to get to Turkey’s economy. /Star/[10] MUMCU WELCOMES 2 PLANNED ISTANBUL HOTELSCulture and Tourism Minister Erkan Mumcu yesterday attended a reception announcing plans for two new hotels to be built in Zeytinburnu, Istanbul by France’s Accord Hotel Group. Also present at the reception was Paul Poudade, France’s ambassador to Ankara. Addressing the gathering, Mumcu said that he welcomed the trend of rising foreign investments in Turkey. /Hurriyet/[11] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS[12] NEW INITIATIVE ON CYPRUS BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on the Cyprus issue. A summary of her column is as follows:“I had thought there was no longer any need to write on the Cyprus issue. I thought Turkey had fulfilled its responsibilities, the Turkish Cypriots had accepted certain conditions (after long talks) for a united Cyprus, and now everything depended on the Greek Cypriots. Meanwhile, I also saw Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos’ efforts to make Ankara recognize Greek Cyprus. If the Turkish and Greek Cypriot women who came to Istanbul for a WINPEACE meeting hadn’t drawn my attention to this issue, I wouldn’t have written about it. In addition, Turkish and Greek women issued a call urging that Turkey be given a date for its European Union membership talks, and this was echoed by both Turkish and Greek Cypriot women. This call will be delivered to the media, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), universities and the European Parliament. Turkish and Greek Cypriot NGOs met recently to plan for a second referendum so UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s plan can be accepted by the Greek Cypriots. Turkish Cypriots are concerned that Ankara might recognize the Greek Cypriot administration if it gets its date for EU membership talks next month. We should also work to prevent this. NGO representatives from both sides have started initiatives to end the current situation and issued a declaration. At this point, the points of agreement of the NGOs were determined. One article of the declaration reads, ‘We accept the principle of political equality. We agree that the two-state solution is unacceptable. In addition, a unitary state formula can’t work for Cyprus. Plans to make Turkish Cypriots into a minority also will not work.’ This initiative wants to lay the groundwork for a second referendum. Papadopoulos met with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Rome last week. Of course the main issue was recognizing Cyprus. Will Turkey ignore Cyprus during its membership talks? Of course not. We have to recognize Cyprus not as it currently is, but rather once a solution is reached.” 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 |