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Turkish Press Review, 05-05-26Turkish 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 morning26.05.2005FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...CONTENTS
[01] FIRST OIL PUMPED THROUGH BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHANThe first oil was pumped through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline at the Sangachal terminal in Azerbaijan yesterday. Speaking at the ceremony attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Kazakh President Nur Sultan Nazarbayev, Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said that he was proud to witness this masterpiece of engineering come true, and thanked those who had made it possible. Sezer added that the pipeline was vitally important for the stability and economic development of the region and that it would contribute greatly to the world’s energy security with a capacity of 1 billion barrels a day and 50 million tons a year. “At the same time, it will reduce the burden of dangerous materials carried through the Turkish Straits,” he said. Aliyev said that the process of implementing the project had been very long, difficult and dangerous. For his part, Saakashvili said, “The implementation of the BTC project is the geopolitical victory of Azerbaijan and those cooperating with it.” In addition, US Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman said that the pumping of the first oil would change the world. /Cumhuriyet/[02] FOREIGN PRESS REPORTS ON BTC PIPELINE OPENINGBritish daily The Independent wrote yesterday that the newly opened Baku- Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline aimed to save the West from dependence on Middle Eastern oil and that it passed through critical regions. German news agency Deutsche Welle wrote that the pipeline would benefit the US and Turkey, but also cause new debates in the region. US daily The Washington Times hailed the opening of the pipeline as a historic event and wrote that the US- Azerbaijani ties are growing stronger. /Milliyet/[03] US CONGRESS TO SEND DELEGATION TO TRNCThe US Congress, which imposed an embargo on Turkey following the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation, next week will send an official delegation to the TRNC for the first time. Greek Cypriots were angered by this gesture of the US and rejected the delegation’s request for an appointment. The US delegation, including Turkish-US Caucus Co-Chair Congressman Ed Whitfield, will meet with TRNC Prime Minister Serdar Denktas and President Mehmet Ali Talat. During the delegation’s visit to Istanbul and Ankara, it will be accompanied by Egemen Bagis, the head of Parliament’s Turkish-US Friendship Group. Then Bagis will hold a banquet for the US officials on behalf of the Parliament at the Istanbul Modern Museum. /Milliyet/[04] GAMBIA: “WE WILL RECOGNIZE THE TRNC”Gambia, a nation in western Africa with a population of about 1.6 million, yesterday stated that it wanted to become the second country in the world to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). During TRNC Foreign Minister Serdar Denktas’s official visit to Gambia, Gambian President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh said, “There is no reason for us not to recognize you. You can trust us.” Stating that he was very proud that Denktas made his first official visit to Africa in Gambia, he added, “Just tell us what you want to do and we will do it. In addition, we are also ready to establish relations in every area, including the economy.” Denktas added that the TRNC was ready to give scholarship to Gambian students at the TRNC’s six universities. /Hurriyet/[05] BAYKAL CRITICIZES EU “SPECIAL PARTNERSHIP” PROPOSALSSpeaking to his party’s group meeting yesterday, Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal stated that proposals for a “special partnership” for Turkey in lieu of EU membership were unacceptable. Calling such proposals greatly unfair considering Turkey’s 40-year determined struggle for EU membership, Baykal said, “Promising full membership to Turkey and than going back on this will harm not only the political, but also the moral and ethical values of the EU.” Baykal added that initiatives for formulas other than full membership had been mentioned before last December’s summit but that the political leadership and the media had ignored this. Argued Baykal, “Turkey should have said back then, ‘You aren’t proposing a process to bring Turkey full membership. We want full membership and we won’t accept anything else’.”/Cumhuriyet/[06] GERMAN CDU OFFICIAL: “TURKEY WILL BEGIN ACCESSION TALKS ON THE DATE SET”Wolfgang Schaeuble, vice chairman of the German Christian Democratic Union’s (CDU) Federal Assembly group, affirmed yesterday that Ankara would begin its EU accession talks on Oct. 3, as scheduled. Although the CDU, the possible winner of early German parliamentary elections, is known for its opposition to Turkey’s European Union membership, Schaeuble said on German television that the date of Oct. 3 was binding, and no government could dare to change that decision. The top CDU official stated that if his party wins early elections, it would respect the decision on Turkey’s beginning accession talks. He added that the CDU believes the talks could last for more than a decade. In addition, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn’s spokesman Christina Nagy said yesterday that Ankara would begin its accession talks on Oct. 3, adding that referendums in France and the Netherlands and early elections in Germany would not affect Turkey’s beginning the talks, and that there were no conditions for this besides implementation of the harmonization protocol and legal reforms. Meanwhile, Turkish-origin politicians in the Netherlands yesterday called on Turks living in this country to vote “yes” on the EU Constitution during a referendum next week. /Turkiye/[07] ARINC CONTINUES CONTACTS IN THE USParliament Speaker Bulent Arinc, who is currently paying a visit to the US, yesterday met with representatives of Jewish-American groups and the Assembly of Turkish-American Associations (ATAA) in Washington. Today, Arinc is expected to meet with US House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert. /Star/[08] TERRORISTS KILL FOUR SECURITY OFFICERSA landmine laid by terrorist in the town of Gercus in the southeastern province of Batman killed four security officers yesterday. A large operation is underway to capture the militants. /Turkiye/[09] LIVERPOOL WINS UEFA CHAMPIONS CROWN IN ISTANBULFootball clubs AC Milan and Liverpool last night met at Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium for the 2005 UEFA Champions League trophy. Liverpol took the cup home for the fifth time with a score of 6-5. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who arrived in Istanbul yesterday to watch the match, was hosted by his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After their talks, Berlusconi told a joint press conference that Ankara would begin European Union accession talks on Oct. 3 as scheduled, adding that Italy’s ongoing support for Turkey would also continue during its accession process. Berlusconi also praised the Turkish government’s recent political reforms and economic accomplishment. For his part, Erdogan stated his pleasure at hosting his Italian counterpart in Istanbul. Pointing to some 300,000 Italian tourists visiting the country annually, Erdogan stated that the number was quite low. While Erdogan encouraged more Italians to spend their holidays in Turkey, Berlusconi also pledged to do his best on the matter. /Turkiye/[10] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[11] IS HUNTINGTON RIGHT? BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen comments on the controversial US scholar Samuel Huntington’s recent remarks on Turkish-European Union relations. A summary of his column is as follows:“Samuel Huntington, the controversial American author of ‘The Clash of Civilizations,’ came to Istanbul earlier this week and told CNN Turk that Ankara's bid to join the European Union was doomed to fail! His ideas and controversial book ‘The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order’ have long been debated by scholarly and political circles all around the world. It’s very interesting that Huntington came to Turkey and offered striking remarks on the country’s EU membership bid just when anti-Turkish circles in the bloc have also started to raise their voices. His messages were clear: Europeans don’t want you. They'll do everything they can to keep you out… The American political scientist bases his remarks on his controversial views in ‘The Clash of Civilizations.’ In other words, the reason why Europeans don’t want Turkey is the cultural and religious differences between the two. There’s no doubt that some European circles don’t want Turkey for just the reasons cited by Huntington. However, these aren’t the only reasons. Turkey’s large population and political and economic shortcomings are also major problems in the eyes of Europeans. However, it’s also true that some governments are in favor of Turkey’s membership despite public opposition and hesitation in their countries. As a matter of fact, these two poles are still debating the Turkey issue on the old continent. Huntington is right about one thing: Since the French and Dutch referendums on the EU Constitution seem to connect with Ankara’s membership bid, we could suspect that there is an ulterior motive to exclude Turkey behind these votes. However, if the French and Dutch publics say ‘no’ to the Constitution, we cannot argue that the only reason is our membership bid. It would be quite mistaken to think that Turkey’s membership aspirations are the only motive… We will of course face new difficulties if these referendums reject the EU Constitution and possible early elections unseat Germany’s current government … But what should Turkey do now? One of our options is to continue our path without deviating from our goals. Let’s not forget that Turkey is already a member of basic European institutions such as the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. We’re also part of most of the European cultural and sports organizations. Therefore, Huntington is mistaken, as he sees the picture from a single perspective… Our second option is, as Huntington suggested, to give up on our EU aspirations and seek new alternatives. Honestly speaking, Huntington’s suggestions are way behind Turkey’s targets and almost certain not to work. He’s insisting on a theory based on the clash of civilizations, and I think he’s trying to find examples to back it up… However, in the international community you’ll find many people who believe in and strive for the compromise of civilizations…” [12] ERROR IN THE EQUATION BY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)Columnist Oktay Eksi comments on a postponed gathering of Turkish historians and academics questioning the official Turkish view of the 1915 deportation of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. A summary of his column is as follows:“The conference on ‘Ottoman Armenians During the Fall of the Empire,’ which had been scheduled for this week at Bogazici University, was a misguided attempt, because it was made without taking into consideration the context in Turkey. It would be wrong to hold this conference to disprove the views of those who argue that the Armenian genocide never took place. Moreover, the subject should be handled in an objective manner and though scholarly discussions. For example, those who represent the opposing view should also be represented there equally. That this wasn’t done was probably the biggest mistake. However these were not the only mistakes made... Justice Minister Cemil Cicek accused those who planned the conference of ‘stabbing Turkey in the back’ and after that made statements a good democrat should never make: He accused them of treason. This was the biggest mistake of all. I don’t find the government’s reaction democratic, but in fact very wrong, as I wrote above. I wish that the conference had been held and we could find the answer to these two questions: 1. Could you hold the opposite version of this conference –which could not be held because Turkey is not democratic enough – in Armenia? For example, could a conference on ‘The Armenian Genocide Allegations Are Based on Lies’ be held in Armenia? 2. Those who say that the Armenian genocide is real, when in some European countries laws were passed making denying the allegations a crime, did you oppose this with even a single breath?” 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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