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Turkish Press Review, 05-06-27Turkish 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 morning27.06.2005ERDOGAN VISITS BLACK SEA REGION ERDOGAN TO TRAVEL TO AZERBAIJAN THIS WEEK TALAT: “I’M READY TO MEET WITH THE GREEK CYPRIOTS” PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE VETOED LAWS FRATTINI: “IT WOULD BE A MISTAKE TO EXCLUDE TURKEY FROM THE EU” HANNAY: “TURKEY IS THE KEY COUNTRY FOR A SOLUTION ON CYPRUS” AGAR: “FARMERS ARE SUFFERING DUE TO MISGUIDED GOVT POLICIES” BAHCELI: “THE MHP WILL COME TO POWER” MUMCU SPEAKS ON EDUCATION, HEADSCARF ISSUE SABANCI: “TUSIAD WILL REPRESENT ITSELF ALONE” FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS ORANGE HANDKERCHIEFS ARE IN POCKETS ALREADY BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN VISITS BLACK SEA REGIONPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a visit to Black Sea region provinces including Trabzon, Rize and Artvin over the weekend. Addressing locals during his visit, Erdogan stated that Turkey had entered a period of development and change through the rule of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. “We’ll take all steps together with the nation and we’ll always remain united,” said the premier. Stressing that the Black Sea Coastal Highway would contribute greatly to regional development, Erdogan said that it would also make the region more attractive. Concerning recent oil price hikes, Erdogan said that three or four price increases over three weeks was not proper. He added that the government could step in if the hikes continue. After completing his contacts, Erdogan returned to Ankara last evening. /Turkiye/[02] ERDOGAN TO TRAVEL TO AZERBAIJAN THIS WEEKPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to travel to Azerbaijan on Wednesday for talks with Azeri officials. During his two-day visit, Erdogan will meet with President Ilham Aliyev. Following interdelegationary talks, various agreements are expected to be signed. He will also meet with the Parliament speaker and then address the Parliament. /Turkiye/[03] TALAT: “I’M READY TO MEET WITH THE GREEK CYPRIOTS”Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat stated over the weekend that he was ready to meet with Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos. “We can meet at the United Nations building or in the house of UN representatives here,” Talat said. “We both prefer the talks to be held under the auspices of the UN.” In related news, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is set to hold his first meeting with Talat in early August. Sezer will also receive former TRNC President Rauf Denktas on July 5-6. The president will host a ceremony at the Cankaya Presidential Palace where he will present Denktas an order of merit. Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok are also expected to be present at the ceremony. /Cumhuriyet, Hurriyet/[04] PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE VETOED LAWSParliament is expected to debate early this week the vetoed Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) law and the vetoed regulations of the new Turkish Penal Code (TCK) reducing punishments for unlicensed educational institutions. It will work overtime until the end of this week in order to complete the work before the scheduled parliamentary recess, set to start Friday. /Turkiye/[05] FRATTINI: “IT WOULD BE A MISTAKE TO EXCLUDE TURKEY FROM THE EU”European Commission Vice President Franco Frattini over the weekend said that closing the doors of the European Union to Turkey would be a mistake. "Depriving Ankara of the opportunity to begin its membership negotiations is a mistake that we should never make," he stressed. In an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica, Frattini argued that if Turkey is refused, the EU would be sending a negative message to the Muslim world. He also called on Ankara to continue its reforms on its path towards EU membership. /Hurriyet/[06] HANNAY: “TURKEY IS THE KEY COUNTRY FOR A SOLUTION ON CYPRUS”Britain’s former Special Envoy to Cyprus Lord David Hannay over the weekend said that Turkey’s European Union membership bid was the key to a possible solution of the Cyprus problem. Hannay claimed that if Turkey’s EU bid was turned back, then there would be no settlement on the island. “If the Turkish application is rejected then forget about it, there is not going to be a settlement,” he warned. “It is as bad as that. That’s my prediction. But I don’t think that will happen.” Hannay predicted that Turkey’s accession negotiations would probably take up to 10 years. “It all really depends on the evolution of Turkey’s relationship with the EU,” he said. “That is the key to everything. No Turkish negotiations, no Cyprus settlement in my view.” /Cumhuriyet/[07] AGAR: “FARMERS ARE SUFFERING DUE TO MISGUIDED GOVT POLICIES”True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar said yesterday that people are suffering under difficult economic conditions. Speaking to citizens in the Western Thrace province of Edirne, Agar said all farmers in the country were facing woes due to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government’s mistaken policies. Stressing that the people have no faith in their future, the DYP leader stated that the nation’s salvation lies in early elections. /Turkiye/[08] BAHCELI: “THE MHP WILL COME TO POWER”Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli said yesterday that the nation should be saved from the ruling of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Addressing people in the Mediterranean city of Osmaniye during the Eighth Ergenokon Feast, Bahceli said that the country had been badly ruled for some two-and-a-half years by the AKP. He also claimed that his party was the strongest contender for coming to power. /Aksam/[09] MUMCU SPEAKS ON EDUCATION, HEADSCARF ISSUEMotherland Party (ANAP) leader Erkan Mumcu said over the weekend that religious courses in schools should be electives so that Sunnis and Shiites would both be taught according to their beliefs. Speaking on CNN Turk, Mumcu warned that holding a referendum on the headscarf issue, as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recommended, would cause a split in the nation. “The headscarf issue is covered by Board of Higher Education (YOK) regulations,” added Mumcu. “We could change Articles 130 and 131 of the Constitution. We would reform YOK by dealing with the headscarf problem.” He also said that the term “public areas” should be redefined, and charged that ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leaders were trying to use headscarf issue as a ploy to gain votes. He also added that the religious educational system should be changed, as imam hatip schools have lost their function. /Milliyet/[10] SABANCI: “TUSIAD WILL REPRESENT ITSELF ALONE”Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) Chairman Omer Sabanci said over the weekend that TUSIAD doesn’t belong to other associations and will represent itself in the business world alone during Turkey’s European Union negotiations period. He also added that TUSIAD’s efforts for EU membership are known by both the public and the government and that Turkey’s business community should be represented during the talks by an association that has great knowledge. The business community should be represented by various associations and TUSIAD is not the only representative, just one of them, he said. “TUSIAD has been the most active nongovernmental organization (NGO) especially during this parliamentary negotiation period,” added Sabanci. He stated that some EU member states are against Turkey’s membership and that changing these attitudes should be job number one. The recent Belgian court ruling about terrorist Fehriye Erdal concerns the entire country, he added. /Hurriyet/[11] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS[12] ORANGE HANDKERCHIEFS ARE IN POCKETS ALREADY BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on her meeting with Azerbaijani politician Isa Gamber. A summary of her column is as follows:“I recently met with Azerbaijani opposition leader Isa Gamber in Istanbul. He was in Istanbul to participate in the meeting on Democratization and Security in the Wider Middle East, organized by the ARI movement last week. Gamber has been carrying the mantle of Azerbaijan’s opposition leader for the longest time in Azerbaijan. He believes the general elections set for this November are very important for democratization in his country. It seems Azerbaijan will be the next stop of the velvet revolutions. They have already put orange handkerchiefs in their pockets. However, I didn’t talk about these issues with Gamber. We discussed mostly Turkish-Azerbaijani relations. ‘Turkey shouldn’t shrink from dealing with the Armenian issue,’ he said. ‘If it’s going to take steps about this issue, it should talk with the Azerbaijani government.’ Maybe Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will talk about this issue with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during his visit this week to Baku, but Gamber means that Turkey shouldn’t discuss the border gate problem with Armenia separate from the Nagorno-Karabagh issue. He asked, ‘Would establishing good relations with the Armenian government save Turkey from the pressure of the “genocide” claims?’ Then he answered himself. ‘It’s a mistake to think that if concessions are made, the Armenian government would soften its stance. When Turkey opened its airspace, what changed? Genocide allegations are still the backbone of Armenian state policy. It won’t stop these allegations. If Turkey is going to open its borders, it should firstly talk to the Azerbaijani government and tell it the reasons for doing this and the sums to be earned in return.” Because the Azerbaijani government, 20% of whose land is under Armenian occupation, should know what Turkey’s change of policy will bring. I wanted to know if Turkey’s relations with Armenia would always be like this. He replied, ‘We believe that relations with Armenia should be improved. When we come to power, we will try to do this, but problems in Caucasia should also be solved. Democracy should come not only to Azerbaijan, but also to Armenia.’ So many things have slowed down in Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, compared to 15 years ago. There’s nothing concrete except mutual interest in the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline. Now nobody is taking creative steps to develop the humanitarian or cultural aspects of relations. Gamber said, ‘We should discuss such subjects as the Armenian or Cyprus issue with Turkey and draw up plans together.’ It’s our responsibility to start with Azerbaijan to develop a common basis of action covering Georgia and Armenia.” 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 |