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Turkish Press Review, 05-12-21
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
21.12.2005
PRESIDENT SEZER: “THE ELECTORAL
THRESHOLD CAN BE LOWERED”
SPEAKING TO CABINET, GUL HAILS
IRAQI ELECTIONS AS IMPORTANT STEP FOR COUNTRY’S
INTEGRITY AND STABILITY
REBUFFING CRITICS OF PAMUK
TRIAL, CICEK FAULTS EU “INTERFERENCE” IN
TURKEY’S JUDICIARY
GONUL: “THERE’S NO LEGAL
GROUNDWORK FOR A POSSIBLE CROSS-BORDER OPERATION
AGAINST THE PKK”
TRNC PRESIDENT DENKTAS
TO ADDRESS PARLIAMENT
FREEDOM HOUSE: “TURKEY IS
PARTLY FREE”
JAPANESE PM TO VISIT TURKEY IN
JANUARY
LOGOGLU: “PROSPERITY IN
NORTHERN IRAQ SERVES TURKEY’S INTERESTS”
SUPPORT FOR RECTOR ASKIN FROM
TUSIAD LEADERS
SURVEY FIND RISING EU SENTIMENT
AGAINST TURKEY’S MEMBERSHIP
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
SYMBOLIC POLITICS
BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA (AKSAM)
CONTENTS
[01] PRESIDENT SEZER: “THE ELECTORAL
THRESHOLD CAN BE LOWERED”
[02] SPEAKING TO CABINET, GUL HAILS
IRAQI ELECTIONS AS IMPORTANT STEP FOR COUNTRY’S
INTEGRITY AND STABILITY
[03] REBUFFING CRITICS OF PAMUK TRIAL,
CICEK FAULTS EU “INTERFERENCE” IN TURKEY’S
JUDICIARY
[04] GONUL: “THERE’S NO LEGAL GROUNDWORK
FOR A POSSIBLE CROSS-BORDER OPERATION AGAINST
THE PKK”
[05] FORMER TRNC PRESIDENT DENKTAS TO
ADDRESS PARLIAMENT
[06] FREEDOM HOUSE: “TURKEY IS PARTLY
FREE”
[07] JAPANESE PM TO VISIT TURKEY IN
JANUARY
[08] LOGOGLU: “PROSPERITY IN NORTHERN
IRAQ SERVES TURKEY’S INTERESTS”
[09] SUPPORT FOR RECTOR ASKIN FROM
TUSIAD LEADERS
[10] SURVEY FIND RISING EU SENTIMENT
AGAINST TURKEY’S MEMBERSHIP
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[12] SYMBOLIC
POLITICS
BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA (AKSAM)
[01] PRESIDENT SEZER: “THE ELECTORAL
THRESHOLD CAN BE LOWERED”
President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday delivered a speech
at the High Advisory Council (YIK) meeting of
the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s
Association (TUSIAD). In the closed-door
meeting, Sezer suggested that the electoral
threshold be lowered to 7 or 8% from the current
10%. “But the Turkish Parliament will be the
body to make a decision on the electoral
threshold issue,” said Sezer. Sezer also said
that the nation’s economic recovery isn’t being
felt in all segments of society, and added,
“Poverty, security problems in big cities,
corruption and terrorism are threatening the
social fabric.” Also touching upon Turkey’s EU
membership bid, President Sezer said Turkey is a
powerful country that would contribute
significantly to EU security and foreign policy
both regionally and globally, through its
strategic position and the opportunities it
offers. /Cumhuriyet/
[02] SPEAKING TO CABINET, GUL HAILS
IRAQI ELECTIONS AS IMPORTANT STEP FOR COUNTRY’S
INTEGRITY AND STABILITY
Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul briefed the Cabinet on
Monday about last week’s Iraqi elections.
Addressing his fellow state ministers, Gul said
that Ankara had persuaded some Sunni groups to
vote in the elections, adding that this had
helped the polls’ credibility. Gul stressed that
Washington was aware of the importance of
Ankara’s initiative, adding that the holding of
elections was very important, despite some
irregularities which were encountered. “Dec. 15
was a very important step for the integrity and
stability of Iraq,” added Gul. /Star/
[03] REBUFFING CRITICS OF PAMUK TRIAL,
CICEK FAULTS EU “INTERFERENCE” IN TURKEY’S
JUDICIARY
Addressing
Parliament yesterday in 2006 budget debates,
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek said that he had
received a file on the Orhan Pamuk trial and
that it was being examined. “We’ll evaluate the
issue with judges, our ministry’s public
prosecutors, and scholars,” said Cicek. He also
rebuffed criticisms from the European Union
about the issue, which he called “interference,”
in Turkey’s judiciary, adding that more of this
was being seen. “Officials from the EU comment
on the case without knowing anything about it,”
stated Cicek. He further stated that the latest
EU progress report had presented a list of steps
Ankara should take to achieve judicial
independence, but now it’s asking Ankara to
intervene in a trial. /Star/
[04] GONUL: “THERE’S NO LEGAL GROUNDWORK
FOR A POSSIBLE CROSS-BORDER OPERATION AGAINST
THE PKK”
Addressing
Parliament yesterday in 2006 budget debates,
Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said that there was
no legal groundwork for a possible cross-border
operation against the terrorist PKK in the
Kandil Mountains of northern Iraq. Gonul said
that previous operations were done under
agreements made with Saddam Hussein’s regime,
which was toppled by the US. Gonul also praised
Turkey’s defense industry, saying that Turkey
used to buy rifles from abroad, but now the Land
Forces meets almost their needs from Turkish
sources. /Milliyet/
[05] FORMER TRNC PRESIDENT DENKTAS TO
ADDRESS PARLIAMENT
Former Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC) President Rauf Denktas is due to address
the Turkish Parliament tomorrow to brief the
deputies on recent developments on Cyprus.
Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP)
leader Deniz Baykal, who invited Denktas, said
that he wanted everyone to hear the realities of
the Cyprus issue from Denktas. All political
party leaders and many non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) are invited to Parliament
for the address. /Star/
[06] FREEDOM HOUSE: “TURKEY IS PARTLY
FREE”
Freedom House, a leading
US-based human rights organization, said in its
just-released annual report that Turkey was a
partly free country. The global survey done by
Freedom House, “Freedom in the World 2005,” said
89 countries are “free,” while 50 others,
including Turkey, are characterized as “partly
free.” /Sabah/
[07] JAPANESE PM TO VISIT TURKEY IN
JANUARY
Japanese Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi is set to pay an official
visit to Turkey on Jan. 10-11. Koizumi announced
earlier this month that he would visit Israel,
the Palestinian territories and Turkey in
January to show support for the fragile Middle
East peace process. /Turkish Daily News/
[08] LOGOGLU: “PROSPERITY IN NORTHERN
IRAQ SERVES TURKEY’S INTERESTS”
Turkey’s
Ambassador to the US Faruk Logoglu said on
Monday that in order for democracy to flourish
in the Middle East, religious and state affairs
should be separated from each other. Addressing
a gathering organized by the Potomac Institute
for Policy Studies, a think-tank based near
Washington, the Turkish ambassador stated that
Turkey’s principle of secularism played a key
role in the success of democracy in the country.
Expressing his personal view, he claimed that
Iran was heading for the acquisition of nuclear
weapons. Logoglu urged the US to launch direct
talks with Tehran. He stressed that so long as
Iraq’s territorial integrity is preserved,
improving security and prosperity in northern
Iraq would also serve Turkey’s interests.
Furthermore, Logoglu remarked that Turkey’s
European Union membership would boost the bloc’s
influence in the Middle East. /Milliyet/
[09] SUPPORT FOR RECTOR ASKIN FROM
TUSIAD LEADERS
At
yesterday’s High Advisory Council (YIK) meeting
of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s
Association (TUSIAD) in Ankara, leaders of the
group sounded warnings on the current cases
against Van University Rector Yucel Askin and
novelist Orhan Pamuk. YIK Chair Mustafa Koc
criticized the government and the judiciary for
their actions in the case against Askin, saying,
“The detention period of Rector Askin is clearly
unacceptable.” “The country needs decent
education reform rather than a power struggle
between universities and political authorities
over the headscarf issue,” said Koc. TUSIAD
Chair Omer Sabanci said that Turkey was trying
to attain democracy of a “mediocre” quality.
Sabanci stressed that hurdles impeding freedom
of expression should be eliminated, lamenting
that channels for democratic participation
aren’t open to all. He said that democracy
wouldn’t flourish at universal standards in an
environment where proposals to offer a living
space to different cultures are seen as
separatism. /Hurriyet/
[10] SURVEY FIND RISING EU SENTIMENT
AGAINST TURKEY’S MEMBERSHIP
The
latest Eurobarometer public opinion survey,
which is conducted twice a year both in European
Union member and candidate countries, found the
current percentage of people in EU countries
supporting Turkey’s EU membership at 31%.
According to Eurobarometer’s survey this October
and November, the percentage of people in EU
countries opposing Turkey’s membership is 55%,
with 14% undecided. In Eurobarometer’s survey in
Turkey earlier this year, support for the EU’s
enlargement was 66%, but in the new survey this
support fell to 52%. /Cumhuriyet/
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[12] SYMBOLIC
POLITICS
BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA (AKSAM)
Columnist Ismail Kucukkaya comments on the
politics of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A summary of his column is as follows:
“Politics is done mostly through symbols. Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is among those who
attach importance to ‘symbolic politics’ the
most. His party’s [Justice and Development Party
(AKP)] conditions play an important role in
this, and the character of the AKP’s territory
makes this caution obligatory. In addition,
Erdogan attaches importance to his relations
with the party base. Let’s consider the Turkish
Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association
(TUSIAD) summit in Ankara. He didn’t participate
in this year’s TUSIAD meeting, which looks like
a strategic move. Erdogan didn’t want to listen
to criticisms directed at him and his government
by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and the TUSIAD
chairman during the meeting. He avoided facing
the criticism – at least face-to-face – on such
complex issues as the trial of author Orhan
Pamuk and primary and sub identity. However, he
always retained the option to respond by
including two economic appearances on this
schedule that day. Here’s how the government
thinks: ‘The prosperity of all the people living
in Turkey rose thanks to our economic program
and performance. Business profits rose the most.
These successes weren’t achieved just because
businesses built factories. Everybody, including
TUSIAD members, gain from the government’s
success. However, these same businessmen are
ungrateful in crediting the government’s
performance and they use a cruel style when they
find a basis for criticism.’
This
mentality is the basic reason why Erdogan wasn’t
at the TUSIAD meeting. However, he put the
Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s
Association (MUSIAD) meeting on his schedule. He
will also appear with the Turkish Union of
Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) the
next day. So, he’s making tactical maneuvers. He
still has the mentality that not Istanbul, but
Anatolia handed political rule to the AKP.
Erdogan doesn’t want to be photographed
alongside big capital because of how he got to
power. However, he also doesn’t draw a picture
of crisis, either. He does the same thing
concerning big media. We don’t see the
manager-politician pictures as much as we used
to. He knows that he will lose his attraction
for the masses if such pictures are seen.”
ARCHIVE
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