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Turkish Press Review, 05-06-16Turkish 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 morning16.06.2005ERDOGAN MEETS WITH LEBANESE PREMIER FOREIGN MINISTRY: “GREEK CYPRUS CANNOT OPEN AN EMBASSY IN ANKARA” EU CANCELS MEETING WITH CANDIDATE COUNTRIES SWEDEN’S PRINCESS VISITS ISTANBUL BAROSSO: “THE EU SHOULD KEEP ITS COMMITMENTS TO TURKEY” WB’S VORKINK SPEAKS ON JOB CREATION MEASURES WORLD BANK RELEASES LOAN FOR TURKEY DEMIREL: “WORK AS IF ELECTIONS WILL BE HELD TOMORROW” POLL FINDS LITTLE ANTI-TURKISH SENTIMENT IN FRANCE, NETHERLANDS SWISS VISIT DEFUSES HALACOGLU, “GENOCIDE” ISSUES BAYKAL SPEAKS ON HEADSCARF ISSUE IMF DELEGATION COMPLETES FIRST ECONOMIC REVIEW FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… THE LEBANESE EXPERIENCE BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH LEBANESE PREMIERPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accompanied by his wife, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan and deputies as well as businessmen yesterday left for Beirut, Lebanon. After his arrival, Erdogan met with his Lebanese counterpart Najib Mikati. The two leaders reportedly discussed bilateral economic, trade, political and cultural relations. Erdogan then visited former Premier Rafik Hariri’s tomb and his family to express his sympathy over the statesman’s assassination earlier this year. The Turkish premier is set to attend the 11th Arab Economic Forum meeting and deliver an opening speech. Following the gathering, Erdogan will be received by President Emile Lahoud and meet with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. After attending a Turkish-Lebanese Businesses Council meeting, he is expected to leave Beirut to return to Turkey. /Turkiye/[02] FOREIGN MINISTRY: “GREEK CYPRUS CANNOT OPEN AN EMBASSY IN ANKARA”Commenting on news reports that the Greek Cypriot administration wants to open an embassy or diplomatic bureau in Ankara after Turkey signs an additional protocol with new European Union members, including Greek Cyprus, Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan said yesterday that this was not possible. Stating that since Turkey does not now and will not in the future recognize the Greek Cypriot administration, Tan said that the administration couldn’t open an embassy in Ankara. Concerning France and the Netherlands’ recent rejection of the EU constitution, Tan said that these developments would not affect Turkey’s EU membership process. /Turkiye/[03] EU CANCELS MEETING WITH CANDIDATE COUNTRIESThe European Union yesterday cancelled a meeting with candidate countries originally set for the end of its current two-day summit in Brussels. The decision was made due to a crisis among the member countries concerning the EU constitution and budget. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who was set to travel to Brussels for the gathering, will not go, but State Minister and Turkey’s chief negotiator for the EU talks Ali Babacan will leave for contacts with EU officials as scheduled. /Cumhuriyet/[04] SWEDEN’S PRINCESS VISITS ISTANBULAfter completing her contacts in Ankara, Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria yesterday visited historical and picturesque sites in Istanbul. She visited Topkapi Palace, the Ayasofia (Hagia Sofia) Museum and sailed on the Bosphorus. /Star/[05] BAROSSO: “THE EU SHOULD KEEP ITS COMMITMENTS TO TURKEY”Emphasizing the importance of keeping promises made in the international arena, European Union Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso yesterday said that the EU must stick to its commitments to Turkey. “We should keep the commitments we made, this is very clear, we are not going to propose to change commitments we made,” he said concerning Turkey’s EU membership process. Barroso added that there have been discussions in the EU concerning the Union’s future borders and that its capacity to include new members was under review. /Milliyet/[06] WB’S VORKINK SPEAKS ON JOB CREATION MEASURESThe World Bank has a new report recommending policies designed to increase employment in Turkey. Speaking on the report, World Bank Turkey Director Andrew Vorkink said yesterday that financial resources which directly influence employment in Turkey had yet to develop and that a mortgage system would have a key role in creating jobs. “We believe that a mortgage system will be a very important financial instrument for boosting employment,” he said. “This system will provide the construction sector with the most jobs, followed by the service and industrial sectors.” He added that the WB had noted the government’s determination to immediately implement the decisions taken at the Investment Counseling Council in Istanbul in order to attract more investment. /Sabah, Turkiye/[07] WORLD BANK RELEASES LOAN FOR TURKEYThe World Bank on Tuesday released a loan totaling $465.4 million in order to support the country’s privatization program. The credit will be non-recourse for four years with a 17-year term. A WB statement said that the privatization program would improve the Turkish economy and that the loan would help to cushion negative impacts of the process. /Sabah/[08] DEMIREL: “WORK AS IF ELECTIONS WILL BE HELD TOMORROW”Truth Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar and a group of Parliament deputies paid a visit to former President Suleyman Demirel yesterday. Demirel said that whenever the next elections are held, and they could be early, political rows would follow. “Everybody should be sure about this.” added Demirel. “Since 1980 no political party in Turkey has been in power for five years. I don’t know whether or not this party will complete their five years but we have to work as if they won’t be able to. I mean we have to work as if elections will be held tomorrow.” / Milliyet/[09] POLL FINDS LITTLE ANTI-TURKISH SENTIMENT IN FRANCE, NETHERLANDSAccording to new opinion polls, the percentage of people opposing Turkey’s European Union membership in the recent referendums in France and the Netherlands was not high. Pollster Eubarometre found that only 6% of the people rejected Turkey’s EU membership in the referendum in France and 3% in the Netherlands. According to the poll, 31% of the French public opposing the EU constitution fear that it would lead to fewer jobs. Some 32% of the Dutch public opposing the constitution said they were protesting the lack of information provided on the subject. /Aksam/[10] SWISS VISIT DEFUSES HALACOGLU, “GENOCIDE” ISSUESParliament Foreign Affairs Commission head Mehmet Dulger is paying a five-day visit to his counterpart in Switzerland. During his contacts, they reportedly reached a solution over the controversy surrounding Turkish Historical Society (TTK) head Yusuf Halacoglu. In addition, Swiss Parliament members declared in a written statement that they would not adopt a resolution on the so-called Armenian genocide, a development which could have damaged relations with Turkey. / Turkiye/[11] BAYKAL SPEAKS ON HEADSCARF ISSUESpeaking to his party’s group meeting yesterday, opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal commented on the issue of whether a president could wear a headscarf in the Presidential Palace. “If a president wears a headscarf in Turkey, the headscarf would become official and common,” he said. “Would you like women to live in Turkey freely with their heads uncovered in the next 20 years? This is the basic question. Prime Minister Erdogan says that he’s not secular. Secularism means saying, ‘I’m a Muslim, but I won’t carry my beliefs to the state.’ The world and humanity have experienced this and learned its lesson. If you say, ‘I’m not secular,’ this means you haven’t learned this lesson.” /Aksam/[12] IMF DELEGATION COMPLETES FIRST ECONOMIC REVIEWState Minister Ali Babacan yesterday met with a visiting International Monetary Fund delegation led by Turkey Desk Chief Lorenzo Giorgianni in Ankara. During a joint press conference, Babacan said that a general consensus had been reached on a draft letter of intent (LOI). Positive figures in production, export and inflation show that last year’s powerful performance will continue this year too, said Babacan. Stressing that in the coming days implementation of structural reforms would take priority, Babacan added that this year’s growth target of 5% would be reached. The IMF is expected to release the first loan tranche of some $800 million in July. /Hurriyet/[13] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…[14] THE LEBANESE EXPERIENCE BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen comments on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s current visit to Lebanon. A summary of his column is as follows:“Just on the heels of his US visit, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday travelled to Lebanon. As usual, some suspicious circles asked several questions: Why did Erdogan have to go to Lebanon now? Is Erdogan trying to challenge the United States? Or does he have a specific mission on his visit to Beirut? Despite these questions, the truth is clear and simple. Erdogan was invited to the Arab Economic Forum in Beirut as an honorary guest to deliver the opening speech of the meeting. Therefore, there was no reason for Erdogan not to attend the forum. This isn’t a pre-scheduled official visit anyway. Therefore, his going to Beirut so soon after Washington was just a matter of timing, that’s all. As a matter of fact, the Bush administration doesn’t seem to be concerned about Erdogan’s trip either. So we shouldn’t ask if Turkey has a specific mission on this visit. Erdogan is just expected to give his usual messages to the Arab countries that they should change to catch up with the standards of the modern world. Turkey often reiterates similar advice, calling on neighboring countries to make reforms. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has urged Arab countries to improve themselves for at least two years now at every relevant occasion, as has the premier himself. Ankara tries to underline that only internal dynamics can give a fresh impetus to reform and that such radical changes cannot be led by foreign countries. A transformation process has already begun in the region. The Lebanese experience is one good example. The people’s movement which started at the beginning of this year on the streets of Beirut has paved the way for efforts to establish a democratic, liberal system in the country. The four-phase Lebanese elections are about to be completed, which will probably result in significant ramifications for both the country and the region. Lebanon seems to have passed its democracy test successfully. If its leaders manage to establish a coalition among various groups and leaders having different and even contradictory views, their country will set a sterling example for other countries in the region.’ 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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