Turkish Press Review, 05-11-08

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From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>

08.11.2005

CONTENTS

[01] SEZER ATTENDS 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF ANKARA UNIVERSITY LAW FACULTY

[01] SEZER ATTENDS 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF ANKARA UNIVERSITY LAW FACULTY

Speaking after yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Justice Minister and government spokesman Cemil Cicek said that the meeting had focused on Turkey’s exports, adding that the stability in exports would help end Turkey’s unemployment problem and create new jobs. “We’ll surpass our export targets,” predicted Cicek. “In the past our export revenues couldn’t cover our oil needs, but today our exports have risen considerably.” Cicek stated that unemployment has fallen as a result of government measures, but that it was still too high. “Turkey will reach a better point regarding employment, and exports are very important towards this end,” he said, adding that a stability fund had been established to help boost employment. /Turkiye/[03] EU ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT SET FOR RELEASE TOMORROW

The European Union Commission tomorrow will release both Turkey’s progress report and Accession Partnership Document. The latest drafts of the documents were presented yesterday. In the progress report, which has taken on increased importance in the wake of the Oct. 3 start to Turkey’s negotiations, there are many requests likely to trouble Ankara such as reducing the military’s influence on politics, restructuring mandatory religious lessons, and a stop to educating Alevi students as Sunnis. In the Accession Partnership Document, which will be Turkey’s roadmap to the EU, there are demands such as new courtroom seating arrangements and abolition of the village guard system. /Aksam/[04] GUL STRESSES IRAQI DIPLOMATS’ KEY ROLE IN ENSURING PEACEFUL NATION

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday received 20 Iraqi diplomats, four of them women. Addressing the diplomats, who are in Ankara to receive training, Gul said that they would have very important roles in creating an Iraq which is at peace both within itself and with its neighbors. Gul stressed that Turkey and Iraq weren’t only neighbors, but they also shared a common religion and culture and added that Turkey was closely following developments in the region. Gul further stated that the Iraqi nation had suffered much, adding that Ankara wanted a stable Iraq to be established. The foreign minister said that Iraq was passing through a transition period, predicting that a new era would begin following elections due to be held next month. /Turkiye/ [05] POINTING TO ANKARA’S CONCERNS, IRAQI DEPUTY PM CALLS FOR PRESENCE OF PKK TO END

Speaking to British daily The Financial Times yesterday, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi called for the presence of the terrorist PKK to end and pointed to Ankara’s concerns about the outlaw group, attacks from which have increased in northern Iraq. Chalabi said that a provision should be put in Iraq’s constitution to prevent Iraq being a base for circles wanting to destabilize Iraq’s neighbors, adding that the problem should be overcome through a “humanitarian stance.” /Turkiye/ [06] PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF COUNCIL OF EUROPE PRESIDENT TO VISIT TURKEY

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) President Rene Van Der Linden will pay a four-day visit to Turkey starting tomorrow. Linden will meet with Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc, and will also visit Anitkabir, Ataturk’s mausoleum, and address members of the Parliament. /Cumhuriyet/[07] ARAB INVESTMENT ON THE RISE

State Minister Kursat Tuzmen yesterday said that the United Arab Emirates is seeking Turkish firms for a $100 billion investment. Tuzmen said, “A call for three island projects which will be constructed in Abu Dhabi and will house large complexes was made to Turkish firms.” Tuzmen yesterday met with Crown Prince Hamid bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s head of Abu Dhabi’s Planning and Economy Administration. Tuzmen said that Nahyan came to Turkey for the continuation of mutual visits and to look into business opportunities. /Star/[08] THIRD CHAPTER OF EU SCREENING BEGINS

The screening process of Turkey’s public procurement legislation, the third chapter of Turkey’s screening process with the European Union, began yesterday in Brussels. A 50-member delegation from the Foreign Ministry, Turkey’s Secretariat General of the European Union, State Planning Organization (DPT), Prime Ministry and several government agencies took part in the first meeting. During this chapter, the EU Commission reportedly will give detailed information on regulations which will be pose problems for Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/ [09] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[00] HEADSCARF REMARKSBY DERYA SAZAK (MILLIYET)

Columnist Derya Sazak comments on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s remarks on the violence in France. A summary of his column is as follows:

“When Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was en route to Germany, he linked the current violence in France with that nation’s ban on wearing headscarves in schools. This is how leader tours go. When the chat starts on the plane, they set aside the domestic agenda and discuss international issues. Visits abroad provide leaders with the opportunity to move away from domestic concerns. During the presidency of the late Turgut Ozal, we were told about Australian aborigines on his trip to New Zealand. At that time, Suleyman Demirel was in the opposition and he criticized Ozal, saying that he was planning to visit Antarctica to see the penguins. When Demirel himself became president, one of his first stops on a journey extending from the Adriatic to the Great Wall of China was the climate summit in Rio. Similarly, Erdogan talked about the negative impact of the ‘process applied in schools,’ instead of speaking with the French people about such problems as unemployment, poverty and inequality from which the violence comes. He meant that if the headscarf problem were solved, then the fires would go out.

When Erdogan tried to interpret the violence in France, we almost forgot how we once spent the Ramadan Festival in Turkey. Photos taken at Semdinli, Hakkari were terrifying: the bomb that exploded on Nov. 1, 1990 blew up a bazaar. It looked like an earthquake had hit. They were taken during the terrorist group PKK’s riot in Sirnak, when terrorism was on the rise. Mr. Erdogan is trying to find a solution to France’s ethnic problem, which is as old as its history of colonialism, by talking about headscarves. Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Zeki Sezer was right when he said, ‘Instead of making shallow remarks, the prime minister should learn lessons from the incidents in France. Unfortunately, under Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule, unemployment has reached a peak. According to official state statistics, 19.4 million people live below the poverty line and 900, 000 people are below the hunger line. Migration from rural areas to cities rose significantly due to the government’s policy of destroying agriculture. Millions of people live on the outskirts of cities in areas dominated by unemployment, poverty and a feeling of exclusion.’ The AKP’s rise took place in se outskirts. It would be enough to look at Istanbul to see its fall. One can’t defeat poverty by solving the headscarf issue.”

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