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Turkish Press Review, 05-11-24
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
24.11.2005
NOV. 24 TEACHERS’ DAY TO BE
CELEBRATED TODAY
ERDOGAN MEETS WITH ITALIAN
BUSINESSMEN, SEEKS THEIR SUPPORT FOR GAP PROJECT
GUL MEETS WITH TURKEY-EU JOINT
ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS
ISTANBUL HOSTS TURKISH-AFRICAN
CONGRESS
PARLIAMENT COMMISSION TO PROBE
INCIDENTS IN HAKKARI
CICEK RESPONDS TO REHN’S
CRITICISMS OVER FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
REHN: “TURKEY’S PARLIAMENT
SHOULD APPROVE ADDITIONAL CYPRUS PROTOCOL AND
OPEN ITS AIRPORTS AND HARBORS TO GREEK CYPRUS”
MERKEL: “CLOSE STRATEGIC TIES
WITH TURKEY ARE IMPORTANT FOR THE EU”
HAKKARI, TOKAT GOVERNORS
EXCHANGE POSTS
BAHCELI PREDICTS EARLY
ELECTIONS NEXT YEAR
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT: “WE AREN’T
AGAINST TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP”
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
0ZKOK’S TERM IN OFFICE
BY DERYA SAZAK (MILLIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] NOV. 24 TEACHERS’ DAY TO BE
CELEBRATED TODAY
[02] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH ITALIAN
BUSINESSMEN, SEEKS THEIR SUPPORT FOR GAP PROJECT
[03] GUL MEETS WITH TURKEY-EU JOINT
ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS
[04] ISTANBUL HOSTS TURKISH-AFRICAN
CONGRESS
[05] PARLIAMENT COMMISSION TO PROBE
INCIDENTS IN HAKKARI
[06] CICEK RESPONDS TO REHN’S CRITICISMS
OVER FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
[07] REHN: “TURKEY’S PARLIAMENT SHOULD
APPROVE ADDITIONAL CYPRUS PROTOCOL AND OPEN ITS
AIRPORTS AND HARBORS TO GREEK CYPRUS”
[08] MERKEL: “CLOSE STRATEGIC TIES WITH
TURKEY ARE IMPORTANT FOR THE EU”
[09] HAKKARI, TOKAT GOVERNORS EXCHANGE
POSTS
[10] BAHCELI PREDICTS EARLY ELECTIONS
NEXT YEAR
[11] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT: “WE AREN’T
AGAINST TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP”
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[13] 0ZKOK’S TERM IN OFFICE
BY
DERYA SAZAK (MILLIYET)
[01] NOV. 24 TEACHERS’ DAY TO BE
CELEBRATED TODAY
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
yesterday issued a message marking Teachers’
Day. Sezer said that teachers had undertaken an
important role to train youth to adopt the
principles of the Republic of Turkey and that
they sacrificed themselves for this cause.
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc, Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and leaders of the other
political parties also issues messages. In his
message, Erdogan said that it was the
government’s priority to raise the standard of
living of teachers. /Turkiye/
[02] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH ITALIAN
BUSINESSMEN, SEEKS THEIR SUPPORT FOR GAP PROJECT
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan yesterday met with Italian businessmen
accompanying Italian President Carlo Azeglio
Ciampi, who is paying an official visit to
Turkey. Addressing the gathering, Erdogan said
that he hoped for Italian businessmen’s support
for Turkey’s Southeastern Anatolia Project
(GAP), adding that the project was among the
world’s nine largest and is already 50%
completed. “If we can get a significant
injection of resources, then the project could
be finished in a short time,” said Erdogan. The
premier reiterated that now that Turkey has
begun its European Union accession talks,
retreat was out of question. Erdogan stated that
in 1988 there were only 17 Italian companies
operating in Turkey, but today that number has
ballooned to 355. “Over 100 of these companies
came to Turkey during our government’s term in
office,” said Erdogan. Also addressing the
gathering, Italian Industry, Energy and Trade
Minister Claudio Scajola said that Italy as a
whole and all of Italy’s political leaders would
stand by Turkey in its EU process. /Cumhuriyet/
[03] GUL MEETS WITH TURKEY-EU JOINT
ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
yesterday met with Turkish members of the
Turkey-European Union Joint Advisory Committee
in advance of the commission’s meeting, set to
be held in Brussels next Monday. Addressing the
gathering, Gul said that in years past the EU
didn’t consider Turkey a country with a free
market, adding, however, that the latest EU
progress report had belatedly reversed this
stance. “This finding of the EU is meaningful,”
added Gul. For their part, the members of the
committee expressed support for the government’s
EU reforms. /Aksam/
[04] ISTANBUL HOSTS TURKISH-AFRICAN
CONGRESS
The First International
Turkish-African Congress started yesterday in
Istanbul. Speaking at the gathering’s opening,
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that the
Turkish and African peoples had deeply rooted
ties, both culturally and politically, going
back to the Ottoman era. Stressing that the
Turkish government wanted to develop both
cultural and economic relations with African
countries, Gul recalled that Turkey has declared
2005 the “Year of Africa.” Pointing to the
importance of African Union Commission Chairman
Alpha Oumar Konare’s current visit to Turkey,
Gul said that it was the first visit at that
level since the commission was established in
1963. Also addressing the meeting, Organization
of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu called on
OIC member countries to forge closer ties with
African countries. /Turkiye/
[05] PARLIAMENT COMMISSION TO PROBE
INCIDENTS IN HAKKARI
Motions submitted by the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AKP), the main
opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and
the Motherland Party (ANAVATAN) regarding the
recent incidents in Hakkari’s towns of Semdinli
and Yuksekova were taken up by Parliament
yesterday. Addressing the General Assembly,
Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu stated that
the government was resolved to determine what
had happened. A later vote said that an
investigative commission of 12 members will be
established, with a mandate lasting for three
months. /Star/
[06] CICEK RESPONDS TO REHN’S CRITICISMS
OVER FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Speaking following yesterday’s
Cabinet meeting, Justice Minister and government
spokesman Cemil Cicek responded to European
Union Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn’s
charges that Turkey is violating freedom of
expression, saying that there was no need to
make too much of the issue since Ankara’s EU
accession talks began only three months ago.
Also expressing support for Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan’s recent remarks about upper
identity, Cicek stated that Erdogan’s statements
were clear and that there was no difficulty in
understanding them. /Cumhuriyet/
[07] REHN: “TURKEY’S PARLIAMENT SHOULD
APPROVE ADDITIONAL CYPRUS PROTOCOL AND OPEN ITS
AIRPORTS AND HARBORS TO GREEK CYPRUS”
Speaking at a meeting yesterday
held by the Turkey-European Union Joint
Parliamentary Commission, EU Commissioner for
Enlargement Olli Rehn called for Ankara to
fulfill its obligations in order to join the EU.
Rehn said that the Turkish Parliament should
approve the additional Cyprus protocol and open
its airports and harbors to Greek Cyprus, adding
that if Parliament doesn’t approve the protocol,
then its negotiation chapters on the Customs
Union wouldn’t start. “The party’s over and
eight weeks have passed since the beginning of
Ankara’s EU talks,” he said. “Now it’s time for
work.” Rehn stated that if Turkey’s reforms were
to slow down, then the entire accession talks
process would be affected by this. “Now the
ball’s in your court and I’m sure that you’ll
play the game wisely,” he added. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] MERKEL: “CLOSE STRATEGIC TIES WITH
TURKEY ARE IMPORTANT FOR THE EU”
On her first official visit in
her new post, German Chancellor Angela Merkel
met with French President Jacques Chirac to
discuss a number of issues, including bilateral
relations and Turkey’s European Union membership
bid. Merkel predicted that Turkey’s membership
aspirations would be “a long process,” adding
that she had told this to Turkish officials.
Merkel said that close strategic ties with
Turkey are important for Europe. “Turkey’s close
strategic connection to the EU is important,”
she said following her meeting with Chirac.
/Aksam/
[09] HAKKARI, TOKAT GOVERNORS EXCHANGE
POSTS
Hakkari Governor Erdogan Gurbuz
and Tokat Governor Ayhan Nasuhbeyoglu were
switched to each other’s posts yesterday.
Certain groups have criticized Gurbuz, who is
taking over the Tokat governorship, for his
stance following the recent bombing incident in
Semdinli, and some locals have called for his
resignation. /Star/
[10] BAHCELI PREDICTS EARLY ELECTIONS
NEXT YEAR
Nationalist Movement Party
(MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday declared
2006 the year of early elections. Speaking to
reporters before his party’s Central Executive
Board meeting, Bahceli said that the dynamics of
elections had been set into motion and no one
had the power to stop this. /Turkiye/
[11] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT: “WE AREN’T
AGAINST TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP”
Speaking at a press conference
during a visit to Slovenia, Armenian President
Robert Kocaryan said that his country was not
against Turkey’s European Union membership,
adding that he opposed preconditions for Turkey
different for those other countries. He stated
that when Turkey becomes an EU member, Armenia
would get the opportunity to be a border country
to the EU. Previously, Armenian officials had
insisted on Turkey’s recognition of the
so-called Armenian genocide allegations before
it could join the Union. /Hurriyet/
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[13] 0ZKOK’S TERM IN OFFICE
BY
DERYA SAZAK (MILLIYET)
Columnist Derya Sazak comments
on Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok’s
term in office and the incidents in Semdinli,
Yuksekova and Hakkari. A summary of his columnn
is as follows:
“We
see surprisingly that the debates following both
the recent incidents in Semdinli and prior to
our rejection of the deployment of US soldiers
for the invasion of Iraq back in March 2003 are
very similar to each other. When the US was
preparing to invade Iraq, the civilian and
military wing at the institutions responsible
for Turkey’s national security, including the
National Security Council (NSC), were far from
having a common policy. In other words, it was
difficult to understand who wanted what in the
coming war. There were serious disagreements,
even a lack of confidence, among the staff about
the crisis. The promises which were given in
Washington caused the focus outside Parliament
to be cautious but this stance was creating
concerns among the domestic and foreign public
about what Ankara really wanted. Although the
memorandum of understanding was put together
after weeks of negotiations, the Land Forces
commander said, ‘We’re disturbed’ just 48 hours
before the vote, causing great consternation.
The government didn’t accept the deployment and
Turkey stood outside the war. For me, this was
fortunate, because the way to start membership
talks with the European Union was opened. The
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) was saved from being
included in a civil war and also from looking
like an army of occupation. If the resolution
hadn’t been rejected, the process of northern
Iraq might have been very different, because the
desires of the civilian and military authority
weren’t clear yet. Historians of the future will
have a better chance to explore the meaning of
March 2003.
As
for today, the bombing incidents in Semdinli and
the difference of opinion between the civilian
and military authority about the region have
been reflected on the course of investigations
and the F-16s flying over a funeral ceremony in
Yuksekova. Certain circles want to take
discussions on the ‘Kurdish issue’ away from its
democratic essence and make them
‘ethno-nationalist’ through using violence.
While there’s the need for a policy to avoid
this, some people are dealing with unreasonable
issues. Is this the time to discuss Chief of
General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok’s term in office?
Extending Ozkok’s term would cause Gen. Yasar
Buyukanit, next in line to be chief, to be
retired. In addition, some people are talking
about Ozkok becoming president. Gen. Ozkok is
being forced to make a statement. It seems
Turkey will start next year in a troubled way.”
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