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Turkish Press Review, 04-12-17Turkish 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 morning17.12.2004CONTENTS
[01] SEZER APPROVES CRIMINAL PROCEDURAL LAWOn the eve of a decision on Ankara’s European Union entry talks, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday approved the revised Criminal Procedural Law (CMUK), which is considered an essential part of Turkey’s EU harmonization drive. The bill was then sent to the Prime Ministry to be published in the Official Gazette. /Star/[02] ERDOGAN: “WE WON’T TAKE ANY STEP AGAINST OUR NATIONAL INTERESTS[03] TOWARDS GREEK CYPRUS”Speaking at a press conference yesterday in Brussels, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan pledged that his government wouldn’t take any step contrary to Turkey’s national interests on the controversial issue of recognizing the Greek Cypriot administration. “Our responsibility doesn’t allow us to recognize Greek Cyprus,” he said. Asked about the possibility of indirect recognition, Erdogan stressed the need for patience on the issue. Erdogan stated that a decision would be made today, adding that he would work for a positive outcome. In related news, before Erdogan’s press conference, the premier met with his Greek counterpart Costas Karamanlis. During their meeting, Karamanlis said that he hoped Ankara would recognize Greek Cyprus before beginning its European Union accession negotiations. For his part, Erdogan said there would be no steps before Turkey gets a definite date to begin its talks. Later, Erdogan met with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. /Cumhuriyet/[04] EU LEADERS PROPOSE BEGINNING TURKEY’S ACCESSION TALKS IN OCTOBER 2005Last night at a dinner meeting in Brussels, European leaders reached an historic agreement to offer Turkey a date of Oct. 3, 2005 to begin its long- delayed European Union accession talks. EU Term President the Netherlands’ Foreign Minister Jan Peter Balkanende told reporters that since Turkey had fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria, the EU leaders had decided to begin its entry talks. Stressing that the aim of the talks would be Turkey’s membership, Balkanende said the negotiations would be open ended, with no guaranteed outcome. Also speaking to reporters, EU Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso said that the leaders had offered Ankara a fair and balanced proposal. “We hope Turkey will accept it,” said Barroso. He stated that the Cyprus issue had also been discussed in depth and that it would be raised during their contacts with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After the press conference, Balkanende met with Erdogan and conveyed the EU leaders’ decision. Afterwards, Erdogan reviewed the decision with his staff. In related news, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is also expected to deliver a speech to the current EU summit. The EU leaders will officially announce their final decision on Turkey today. /Turkiye/[05] POWELL, BARNIER VOICE SUPPORT FOR ANKARA’S EU TALKSUS Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday met with visiting French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier in Washington. Speaking afterwards, Powell said that the two had discussed Turkey’s European Union membership bid. “There is a historic opportunity coming up later this week,” he stated, referring to the EU summit in Brussels which Barnier is now attending. For his part, Barnier echoed French President Jacques Chirac saying, "We want to open the talks [with Turkey] and our ambition, of course, is to succeed and the outcome of the talks should be accession." In related news, Powell telephoned Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to reiterate Washington’s support for Ankara’s EU accession talks. During their conversation, Gul also briefed Powell on developments in Brussels. /Cumhuriyet/[06] FISCHER: “STARTING ANKARA’S EU TALKS WILL HELP US WIN THE WAR ON TERROR”Addressing Berlin’s Bundestag yesterday, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer reiterated his country’s support for Ankara beginning its European Union accession talks, adding that this would be a vital step towards winning the fight against terrorism. “Turkey is the most modern country in the Islamic world,” he added. /Aksam/[07] PAPADOPOULOS: “WE’LL DECIDE AT THE LAST MINUTE WHETHER OR NOT TO VETO[08] ANKARA’S EU TALKS”Greek Cypriot leader Tasos Papadopoulos said yesterday that the current European Union summit in Brussels would be a difficult one, adding that only at the last minute would he decide whether or not to veto a decision to begin Ankara’s European Union accession talks. Papadopoulos reportedly warned that if Ankara doesn’t recognize Greek Cyprus, he could veto its talks. /Cumhuriyet/[09] BERLUSCONI: “THE EU’S DECISION IS A TRIUMPH”Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday hailed European leaders’ decision to begin Turkey’s European Union accession talks next October as both a triumph and a historic compromise between Ankara and Europe. Stressing that the leaders had proposed Oct. 3 to allow Ankara enough time to recognize Greek Cyprus, Berlusconi added that during talks over the historic decision, France’s desires were also taken into consideration. /Turkiye/[10] DENKTAS SET TO CALL FOR EARLY ELECTIONSTurkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas is set today to meet with Parliament Speaker Fatma Ekenoglu and political party leaders in Parliament to discuss early elections. Denktas said that he would continue the necessary procedures for early elections by calling for polls early next week, adding, “I believe they will take place in February.” The possibility of early TRNC polls first arose in October after Premier Mehmet Ali Talat submitted his resignation because his coalition government had lost its majority in Parliament. /Turkish Daily News/[11] ARMENIAN PATRIARCH LENDS SUPPORT TO TURKEY’S EU BIDI advocate Turkey’s membership in the European Union, said Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Mesrob II yesterday. Mesrob emphasized that EU was not a Christian club. “Parliaments of the EU member countries do not make decisions according to the doctrines of the Bible, and the Turkish Parliament does not make its decisions according to the Koran,” Mesrob II said. Asked about expatriate Armenians pushing recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide as a condition for Turkey’s EU membership, Mesrob II said, “The disaster in 1915 is an issue which can be abused. To this end, foreigners will raise this issue when they have the opportunity. But we should defuse its potential for exploitation by beginning dialogues on the issue, both official and unofficial.” /Star/[12] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…[13] HOW DIFFERENT ARE WE REALLY?[14] BY TURKER ALKAN (RADIKAL)Columnist Turker Alkan writes on Turkey’s identity and its European Union membership bid. A summary of his column is as follows:“Today we’ll see what the European Union will say on our membership talks. It will be a critical decision for the future of both Turkey and the continent. During the heated discussions over our membership bid, both Europeans and we have taken for the granted the assumption that ‘Turkey is different from EU countries.’ We’ve accepted this maxim and pledged to change ourselves to live like Europeans. I believe that the bravest and most realistic statement on this issue came from French President Jacques Chirac. ‘We and the Turks share a common history dating back to the Byzantines,’ he said. Nobody took his words seriously, but he had a point. Turkey and Europe indeed share history and culture. We have, of course, our own peculiarities and differences. But who doesn’t? Does an Italian living in Sicily or a Greek living on Crete resemble a Turk or Dane living in the most Nordic part of Europe? Who does a Greek villager doing a folk dance look like the most? Why do Greeks and Turks often listen to and love each other’s music? Does the life of an ordinary Turkish family remind us of the life of an ordinary Afghan or Saudi Arabian family, or that of an ordinary Greek, Yugoslav or Italian family? Religious differences are of course important. However, religion might not be the determining factor in secular countries like Turkey. A larger category, ‘social culture,’ shapes and determines people’s behaviors, habits and traditions. I believe that we can speak of a prevailing ‘Mediterranean culture’ in southern Europe. Religious and sectarian differences aside, there are considerable similarities between Greek, Turkish, Italian and even Spanish culture in terms of lifestyles and patterns of behavior. In fact, Turkey, as a bridge between the West and the East, is closer to the former. Let’s take a look at political matters: Criticisms that the role of the Turkish Army over civilian politics is greater than it should be are nothing new. However, those who charge that Turkey falls short of democratic ideals forget that our experience of democracy is shorter than that of other Euro-Mediterranean countries. There were fascist or military regimes in Greece, Spain and Portugal just 30 years ago. Italy and Germany have worked hard to eliminate their domestic fascist elements. In 1958, the French Army tried to intervene in civilian politics. In brief, religion might be an important factor in shaping cultures, but non-religious factors shouldn’t be ignored. For example, let’s recall the origins of our current government! Didn’t those who are now trying to make Turkey an EU country once have a radical religious agenda? Turkey belongs in Europe as much as it does to the Middle East. It really does!” [15] THE LONGEST DAY AND NIGHT[16] BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen comments on yesterday’s developments in Brussels. A summary of his column is as follows:“Yesterday, in Brussels, we went through the longest day and night. While I was writing this article, the outcome was still uncertain. There was intensive diplomatic traffic in Brussels yesterday during the day, and hard bargaining lasted through the night. It seems we’ll learn of the outcome this morning or during the day. Now let’s list three encouraging developments for Turkey. Firstly, the European Parliament’s report envisaging starting membership talks with Turkey without delay was approved by a two-thirds majority. This is a hugely significant development. This vote gave the best answer to campaigns conducted by certain MEPs against Turkey as well as opposition from the European public. It means that the EP favors Turkey’s membership. The second important development was French President Jacque Chirac’s speech. He addressed both French and European public opinion as a pedagogue and the statesman with a vision, rather than an ordinary politician, and was a powerful example of courage and leadership. The third was EU Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso clearly voicing the commission’s support for Turkey’s membership during a press conference. All these things indicate that the atmosphere among EU institutions and member countries is tipping in Turkey’s favor. However, will this ensure a decision that we like? As I wrote yesterday, getting a date for membership talks isn’t the only important thing. The final statement including such a decision should shape certain items in a way that is acceptable to Turkey. If a consensus based on the principle of win-win is forged, there will be a happy ending and Turkish-EU relations will finally reach the beginning of the end. Of course it will be the beginning of a long, tough road. Such a consensus can be reached only through mutual flexibility and sacrifice. But if the decision includes unacceptable conditions which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan must reject, obviously the next day will be the beginning of a something else entirely. Now let’s not write about such a negative scenario of mutual loss, but instead wait for the happy ending of this long day and night.” 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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