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Turkish Press Review, 05-08-26
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
26.08.2005
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONTENTS
[01] CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES TO BE DISCUSSED BY PARLIAMENT COMMISSION
[02] TUBITAK BRIEFS ERDOGAN, GOVT MINISTERS ON SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL POLICY
[03] GUL, US STATE DEPT’S BRYZA DISCUSS PKK, TURKEY’S EU BID AND CYPRUS
[04] US PRAISES TURKEY’S STEPS ON DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS
[05] GREEK GOVT SPOKESMAN: “THERE ARE STILL OBLIGATIONS ANKARA NEEDS TO MEET FOR ITS EU BID”
[06] AIR FORCES COMMANDER GEN FIRTINA PASSES TORCH TO GEN. COMERT
[07] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[08] THE IRAQ DIFFERENCE BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
[01] CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES TO BE DISCUSSED BY PARLIAMENT COMMISSION
A 55-article constitutional amendment package is expected to reach
Parliament next month. Parliament’s Constitutional Commission will convene
on Sept. 29 in order to discuss the package and reduce the number of its
articles to 15. The commission’s work on the package is expected to be
completed on Oct. 15 and then it will be sent to the opposition Republican
People’s Party (CHP) for support. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip will approve
the final shape of the package, which covers a number of issues, including
parliamentary immunity and the Board of Higher Education (YOK). /Star/
[02] TUBITAK BRIEFS ERDOGAN, GOVT MINISTERS ON SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL
POLICY
Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Council (TUBITAK) Deputy Chairman
Nukhet Yetis yesterday briefed Prime Minister and a group of government
ministers on scientific and technological policy. Also present at the
briefing were Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener, State Minister Besir
Atalay, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, Education Minister Huseyin Celik,
Prime Ministry Undersecretary Omer Dincer and a representative from the
State Planning Organization (DPT). /Star/
[03] GUL, US STATE DEPT’S BRYZA DISCUSS PKK, TURKEY’S EU BID AND CYPRUS
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday met with US Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State Matt Bryza, who is currently paying an official visit to
Ankara. During their meeting, Bryza said that Washington considers the
terrorist group PKK a problem that Turkey and the US will tackle together,
adding, however that Turkey and Iraq should also cooperate to fight that
threat. Speaking afterwards, Bryza said that he and Gul had confirmed the
strategic cooperation between the two countries during their meeting,
adding that they had also discussed other issues such as Turkey’s European
Union membership bid, Cyprus, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Later,
Bryza met with State Minister Kursat Tuzmen and US Charge d'Affaires in
Ankara Nancy McEldowney. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] US PRAISES TURKEY’S STEPS ON DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS
In a statement released on Wednesday, the US State Department praised
Turkey’s steps on democratization and human rights, adding that the US
supported Turkey’s efforts to become a more democratic country. “The United
States has long supported Turkey’s democratization efforts as it continues
on its path toward the European Union,” said the statement. “Turkey has
made impressive strides in recent years on democratization and human rights
issues, as reflected by the European Union decision to grant Turkey a date
to open European Union accession talks. This progress has also been noted
in the department’s annual human rights reports. We commend the Turkish
authorities and the Turkish people on their determined effort and will
continue to support Turkey as it moves this process forward.” /Cumhuriyet/
[05] GREEK GOVT SPOKESMAN: “THERE ARE STILL OBLIGATIONS ANKARA NEEDS TO
MEET FOR ITS EU BID”
Greek government spokesman Theoodoros Rusopulos said yesterday that there
were still some obligations that Ankara needed to fulfill for its European
Union membership bid. Rusopulos stated that the Greek and Greek Cypriot
leaders had determined a common stance following Turkey’s declaration that
signing the additional Custom Union protocol didn’t mean recognition of
Greek Cyprus. /Star/
[06] AIR FORCES COMMANDER GEN FIRTINA PASSES TORCH TO GEN. COMERT
Air Forces Commander Gen. Ibrahim Firtina yesterday handed over his post to
Gen. Faruk Comert in a ceremony. Also present at the handover were
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc and Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Addressing the ceremony, Comert said that
his way was the way of Mustafa Kemal Atatturk, the founder of the Turkish
Republic, saying that this way was modern. “Our only support will be the
Turkish nation,” he added. /Star/
[07] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[08] THE IRAQ DIFFERENCE BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Sami Kohen comments on the situation in Iraq and Turkey’s stance
on it. A summary of his column is as follows:
“Could Iraq become a new Iran? In other words, will the new political
structure of our neighbor cause the establishment of a fundamentalist
regime under the influence of the Shiites? Would the Republic of Iraq or
the Shiite administration in southern Iraq, if it cuts loose from the
center, fall under the sway of Iran, and would this situation change the
balance in the region? Don’t say that it’s too early to think such things.
These questions are being questioned and discussed in all circles
interested in Iraq’s future. Incidents and particularly the elections in
Iraq showed the Shiites’ power. Under the Saddam Hussein regime, the Sunnis
were dominant, although they were just 20% of the population and Shiites
were in the background with 60%. Religious leaders of this community played
a great role in the Shiites’ displaying their power. In the Islamic world,
elections – or more clearly and generally, democracy – have caused
religious parties to gain great success, come into power or establish a
strong opposition. This trend can be seen in Muslim countries over a wide
area, from southern Africa to Asia and from the Middle East to the Far
East. It was inevitable for elections in Iraq to produce such a result.
Now the question is whether this political success of the Shiites will lead
to the establishment of a mullah regime in Iraq. At first glance this may
seem inevitable. However, some experts disagree. Firstly, the lack of such
a danger, at least in the short term, is being emphasized with the
following example: During work on the new constitution, the Shiites wanted
Iraq to be called an ‘Islam republic.’ When others opposed this, a
consensus was reached on the ‘Republic of Iraq.’ This is an important
indicator, because the expression ‘Islam republic’ is included in the
constitution of many countries, from Afghanistan to Pakistan. If Iraq is
divided and a separate state is established in the south, would Mullahs
dominate it? Even if such a scenario comes to pass, experts think that it
is unlikely to look like Iran, because the ideology and vision of Ayatollah
Sistani is very different from that of Ayatollah Khomeini. In addition, the
Shiites in Iraq are very different from the Shiites in Iran in terms of
ideology, history and national identity. For Turkey, obviously, it would be
good if Iraq could maintain its secular character. However, this isn’t
happening, and this is the reality. The important thing is to maintain the
moderate, balanced line of the regime and try to stem the spread of
radicalism. As long as Iraq maintains this line, developments in Iraq
concerning Islamic policies will be considered a domestic issue.”
ARCHIVE
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