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Turkish Press Review, 05-11-17
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
17.11.2005
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN, BERLUSCONI AND PUTIN TO OFFICIALLY OPEN BLUE STREAM NATURAL GAS PIPELINE IN SAMSUN
[02] GUL MAKES UNEXPECTED VISIT TO SYRIA, URGES ASSAD ON INTL COOPERATION
[03] GOVT HOLDS SEMDINLI SECURITY SUMMIT
[04] FOREIGN MINISTRY: “OUR EXPECTATIONS OF DENMARK ARE PART OF INTL COOPERATION IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM”
[05] SEMRA SEZER ADDRESSES THIRD EDUCATION CONVENTION IN ANTALYA
[06] CICEK: “FOUR YEARS AREN’T ENOUGH FOR A LEGAL EDUCATION”
[07] CHP’S KOC: “TURKEY WILL NOT BE AN AYATOLLAH STATE”
[08] DETAILED EU SCREENING BEGINS ON EDUCATION AND CULTURE CHAPTER
[09] HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH CRITICIZES ECHR RULING ON HEADSCARVES
[10] TRNC’S TALAT RECEIVES EU OFFICIALS
[11] US WARNS GERMANY NOT TO CHALLENGE TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP
[12] KORUTURK: “TURKEY EXPECTS MORE US ACTION AGAINST THE PKK”
[13] IMF’S BREDENKAMP WARNS OF HIGH CURRENT ACCOUNTS DEFICIT
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…
[15] DAMASCUS SURPRISE BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
[01] ERDOGAN, BERLUSCONI AND PUTIN TO OFFICIALLY OPEN BLUE STREAM NATURAL
GAS PIPELINE IN SAMSUN
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due today to make the official
opening of the Blue Stream Natural Gas Pipeline in Samsun alongside Italian
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The
pipeline was one of Turkey’s most controversial projects. In related news,
addressing Parliament’s Planning and Budget Commission yesterday, Energy
Minister Hilmi Guler briefed deputies on the government’s energy policies.
Guler stressed that in the past Turkey was faced with natural gas problem
due to inappropriate agreements. In related news, Russian Energy Minister
Viktor Hristenko said that Turkey could achieve its goal of being a bridge
between the East and West by strengthening its cooperation with Russia.
/Milliyet/
[02] GUL MAKES UNEXPECTED VISIT TO SYRIA, URGES ASSAD ON INTL COOPERATION
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul unexpectedly flew to Syria yesterday. Gul met
with Syrian President Bashar Assad at Damascus during his three-hour stay.
After the visit, Gul told a press conference at Esenboga Airport that the
report of a commission investigating the assassination of former Lebanese
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri had been accepted by the UN. Gul added, “The
goal of my visit is full implementation of the UN Security Council
resolutions. I believe that my visit was beneficial. I had a frank meeting
with President Assad. We passed on our views, and I hope it will be helpful
in solving the region’s problems.” According to diplomatic sources, Gul
urged Assad to cooperate with the probe into the Hariri assassination and
also asked him to make a persuasive gesture that Syria is cooperating fully
with the UN. /Star/
[03] GOVT HOLDS SEMDINLI SECURITY SUMMIT
The incidents which began in Hakkari’s Semdinli district and then spread to
Yuksekova were discussed at a security summit yesterday. Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan chaired the summit, and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul,
Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, and
Gendarmerie Commander Gen. Fevzi Turkeri, as well as related bureaucrats
attended. In a statement afterwards, Prime Ministry spokesperson Akif Beki
said that the prime minister had expressed once again his determination to
capture the suspects in the bombing and clarify the incidents, and ordered
the ministers and related security bureaucrats to follow the developments
with close attention. /Star-Aksam/
[04] FOREIGN MINISTRY: “OUR EXPECTATIONS OF DENMARK ARE PART OF INTL
COOPERATION IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM”
In the wake of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan refusing to attend a
press conference with his Danish counterpart Anders Fogh Rasmussen on
Monday, Turkey yesterday again pressed Denmark to take action against a
television station that it says is spreading propaganda for the terrorist
PKK. A reporter from the station, Roj-TV, had been at the conference.
Addressing reporters, Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan said, “The
action we expect Denmark to take is part of international cooperation in
the fight against terrorism. We expect Denmark to clarify its position on
the issue and to take necessary action.” /Sabah/
[05] SEMRA SEZER ADDRESSES THIRD EDUCATION CONVENTION IN ANTALYA
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer’s wife Semra Sezer yesterday attended the
Third Education Convention in Antalya, a meeting aimed at developing new
strategies in education. Addressing the gathering, Sezer briefed the
participants on the work of the Campaign to Support National Education
which started in 2001. She stated that research both at home and abroad
clearly showed that the Turkish educational system faces problems of
quality. “There are still too many Turkish people who can’t go to school
and exercise their right to get an education due to economic, social, and
regional hurdles,” said Sezer. “The campaign will continue until everybody
can read and write.” /Cumhuriyet/
[06] CICEK: “FOUR YEARS AREN’T ENOUGH FOR A LEGAL EDUCATION”
Stressing that justice is one of the basic functions of the state, Justice
Minister Cemil Cicek said yesterday that justice could not be served by
buying special services as in other areas of the state. Speaking at a
ceremony opening Turkey’s Justice Academy and the new education year, Cicek
said the current four-year education at law schools was not enough for a
justice system to function properly. He added that the Justice Academy was
expected to contribute to meeting the demands of the public to a certain
extent. /Turkiye/
[07] CHP’S KOC: “TURKEY WILL NOT BE AN AYATOLLAH STATE”
Turkey will not be an “Ayatollah state,” said Republican People’s Party
(CHP) deputy group leader Haluk Koc yesterday, accusing Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan of trying to create a class of Muslim scholars and
theologians in Turkey. Addressing a press conference in Parliament, Koc
said that Erdogan’s efforts to “eviscerate” the Turkish Republic’s
achievements should not be allowed in the democratic process. Claiming that
Erdogan had suggested that a solution to the headscarf problem could be
found by deferring to religious law, Koc characterized the Justice and
Development Party (AKP) government as a “mindset that criticizes the
European Court of Human Rights ruling” upholding Turkey’s headscarf
restrictions. /The New Anatolian/
[08] DETAILED EU SCREENING BEGINS ON EDUCATION AND CULTURE CHAPTER
Detailed screening of the education and culture chapter under Turkey’s
European Union membership negotiations began yesterday in Brussels. As it
was a detailed screening, only the Turkish delegation and related units of
the EU Commission attended the meeting. At the meeting, the commission was
told about Turkey’s legal adjustments to education and culture as well as
practical implementation. A similar meeting was held at the beginning of
the week on science and research. After this stage, the commission will
prepare its reports on both the science and research and the education and
culture chapters and is expected to submit them to EU member states on Dec.
19. The probability of starting negotiations on these two chapters in
January seems high. /Milliyet/
[09] HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH CRITICIZES ECHR RULING ON HEADSCARVES
Human Rights Watch (HRW) yesterday criticized the European Court of Human
Rights’ recent ruling upholding the headscarf ban in Turkey. A statement
released by the New York-based group claimed that Turkey’s ban on
headscarves clearly infringes the right to religious practice and
expression. “The European court has let down thousands of women who will be
prevented from studying in Turkey’s universities,” it said. /Sabah/
[10] TRNC’S TALAT RECEIVES EU OFFICIALS
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat
yesterday received a European Union delegation including EU Commissioner
for Enlargement Olli Rehn’s Special Cyprus Envoy Jaako Bloomberg, EU
Commission Director General for Enlargement Timo Suma and Cyprus Turkish
Society Test Force Chairman Leopold Maurer. No statement was made after the
meeting. /Turkiye/
[11] US WARNS GERMANY NOT TO CHALLENGE TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP
The US yesterday warned Germany’s Chancellor-designate Angela Merkel
regarding her opposition to Turkey’s full European Union membership. US
Deputy Secretary of State Dan Fried said that it was meaningless to discuss
a “privileged relationship” for Turkey after its accession talks had
already begun. Speaking at a gathering in Germany, Fried said that the US
would continue to back the process of Turkey’s membership. Stressing that
the process might last for years, the top US diplomat stated that he
believed Turkey would continue its democratic and economic reforms.
/Turkiye/
[12] KORUTURK: “TURKEY EXPECTS MORE US ACTION AGAINST THE PKK”
On the last day of his tenure as Turkey’s special envoy to Iraq, Ambassador
Osman Koruturk said yesterday that Ankara has not been pleased with
Washington’s stance regarding the fight against the terrorist PKK in Iraq.
Stressing that Turkey expected more action from the US on this issue than
from Iraq, the senior diplomat underlined the major risk for Iraq’s future
as the disintegration of the country, reflecting Ankara’s firm stance
favoring Iraq’s territorial integrity and unity. /Turkish Daily News/
[13] IMF’S BREDENKAMP WARNS OF HIGH CURRENT ACCOUNTS DEFICIT
International Monetary Fund Turkey Director Hugh Bredenkamp yesterday
warned of Turkey’s high current accounts deficit, which he said was a
result of interest of foreign investors, adding that this situation should
be followed closely. “Measures should be taken immediately if this deficit
increases further,” said Bredenkamp. He stressed that Turkey’s economy was
much sounder than in the past, adding however, that there were still some
risks. “Turkey’s public debt is higher than those of EU member states and
other EU candidates,” he said. “Another risk is the current accounts
deficit, which is higher than expectations. This may not come down next
year.” Bredenkamp stated that Turkish officials were serious in the
implementation of tight fiscal policy and increasing the foreign exchange
reserves of the Central Bank. /Milliyet/
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…
[15] DAMASCUS SURPRISE BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Sami Kohen comments on Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s visit to
Damascus and the Roj-TV crisis in Denmark. A summary of his column is as
follows:
“Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s surprise visit to Damascus promoted a
Turkish diplomatic initiative that will receive appreciation on the
international stage, if successful. The aim of this initiative is to
alleviate the international crisis and tension over former Lebanese Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination and prevent it from growing and
spreading. The United Nations Security Council decided that its probe into
the assassination would be completed by Dec. 15, but Damascus doesn’t want
some Syrian officials in Lebanon to be questioned. Thus there’s a deadlock
on the issue. It’s understood that Egypt, Saudi Arabia and even Russia want
to play a role to resolve this dispute. Gul’s quick visit to Damascus shows
that Turkey moved on this matter. Actually Turkey is the most influential
country which can provide consensus on this issue. Likewise, efforts made
by Turkish diplomats with Damascus, Washington and European Union circles
show a general support and confidence. As I mentioned recently, the policy
followed by Turkey concerning Syria puts Ankar in the right internationally.
The aim of the initiative is to encourage the Bashar Assad administration
to cooperate with the international community and encourage the West to
avoid demands which might destabilize Syria. It would be beneficial for all
parties and Turkey to take this message seriously.
The Roj-TV crisis between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Danish
Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen put the issue of the relation between
terrorism and freedom of expression into the spotlight again. Turkey
considers stopping any activity supporting terrorists directly or
indirectly to be obligatory. According to Turkey, media broadcasts
supporting and encouraging terrorism shouldn’t be considered just as part
of freedom of expression, and friendly countries in particular should show
this solidarity. The stance of Denmark, which puts great importance on
freedom of expression, is very different. As Denmark hasn’t faced a serious
threat of terrorism up to now, it never found it necessary to take any
restrictive measures. However, I think Britain and France, which find
freedom of expression as important as Denmark, were obliged to take certain
measures restricting rights and freedoms. The same can be said of Spain and
Italy as well. Terrorism isn’t only composed of attacks and acts of
violence carried out by militants through various methods. These
organizations are also strengthened through financial resources, logistical
support and propaganda. We hope the public authority investigating the Roj-
TV incident in Denmark will reevaluate the demand, which has been
reiterated by Ankara since February 2004, realistically this time.”
ARCHIVE
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