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Turkish Press Review, 05-12-29Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr><LINK href="http://www.byegm.gov.tr_yayinlarimiz_chr_pics_css/tpr.css" rel=STYLESHEET type=text/css> e-mail : newspot@byegm.gov.tr <caption> <_caption> Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning29.12.2005FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN VOWS TO LIFT OBSTACLES TO FREEDOM OF THOUGHTPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that his government was resolved to eliminate all obstacles hindering freedom of thought. Speaking at a meeting in Ankara, the premier stated that Turkey had laid a milestone on its path to European Union membership. He said that the government’s priority was to complete reforms and structural transformation as part of the negotiation process, which is necessary for a society with free thought and conscience and also constitutes the basis of the EU. State Minister and chief negotiator Ali Babacan and State Minister Abdullatif Sener also attended the meeting and delivered speeches. /Hurriyet/[02] GUL: “RECENT CASES UNDER ARTICLE 301 HAVE HURT TURKEY’S IMAGE AS MUCH AS ‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ ”Speaking to news channel NTV, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday spoke about the trial of Orhan Pamuk and the inquiry into Turkey-European Union Joint Parliamentary Commission Co-Chair Joost Lagendijk. Gul indicated that there is a mindset in Turkey which intentionally wants to sow chaos, adding, “Laws can grow old, but values are important. Patience is required for radical reforms to go through. After the New Turkish Penal Code (TCK) was issued, many courts referred to decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. A few days ago, a court decided that criticism can be grave but there’s a right to criticize.” Gul said that this mindset is hurting Turkey’s image as much as the notorious movie “Midnight Express,” and added, “We will both strengthen the reform process and follow its implementation.” /Star/[03] LAST NSC MEETING OF 2005 SET FOR TODAYThe last meeting this year of the National Security Council will be held today. During the gathering, the outcome and impact on the region of Iraq’s Dec. 15 elections will be discussed. Terrorism and domestic security issues will also be discussed. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, commanding officers of the army and various Cabinet ministers will attend the NSC meeting chaired by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. /Cumhuriyet/[04] US’ RICE TO VISIT TURKEYUS Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit Turkey after the New Year. Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan told a regular weekly press conference that Rice’s visit is coming up but agreement has yet to be reached on scheduling. Rice visited Turkey this February when she signaled that Washington is familiar with Turkey’s concerns and wants to continue the dialogue of strategic cooperation between the two countries. /Star/[05] REACTING TO LAGENDIJK PROBE, EU SAYS TCK’S ARTICLE 301 SHOULD BE LIFTEDThe European Union is reacting to the judicial inquiry into Turkey-European Union Joint Parliamentary Commission Co-Chair Joost Lagendijk under the new Turkish Penal Code’s (TCK) Article 301 for “insulting Turkey, the Republic, its institutions and its bodies,” and Article 288 for “attempting to influence a fair trial.” EU officials reportedly said that they were following the developments on the inquiry with confusion. The officials stated that the inquiry is based on Article 301, which the say should be abolished. The EU sources stated that even if that article is lifted, Europe has seen that there are serious deficiencies in Turkey concerning freedom of expression. In related news, a European Union ambassador in Ankara called the inquiry a “step contrary to freedom of expression.” /Sabah/[06] BAYKAL LENDS SUPPORT TO PROFESSIONAL DRIVERSOpposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday attended a meeting in Ankara of the Turkish Motorists Federation (TSOF), a trade group for professional drivers such as cabbies. Addressing the gathering, the CHP leader pointed to the issues facing the profession, and called on the government to take measures to protect them from violence and save lives. /Turkiye/[07] MUMCU CRITICIZES ERDOGAN’S BUDGET DEBATE STANCEAddressing his party’s group meeting yesterday, opposition Motherland Party (ANAVATAN) leader Erkan Mumcu criticized quarrels during the recent budget debates in Parliament, adding that the style of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been improper. Mumcu stated that Erdogan had made fun of the poverty of the nation and defended a minister of his government against accusations of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). /Cumhuriyet/[08] KARAYALCIN CRITICIZES GOVT PRIVATIZATION POLICY, CLAIMS IT’S SAVING MONEY FOR ELECTION PREPARATIONSAddressing a press conference in Parliament on this week’s budget debates, Social Democrat People’s Party (SHP) leader Murat Karayalcin said that Turkey’s most pressing problems such as poverty, unemployment, and unequal income distribution hadn’t been addressed at these debates, adding that no solutions were proposed to solve these problems. Karayalcin further criticized the privatization policy of the government, claiming that it was saving money in preparation for elections. /Cumhuriyet/[09] SENER: “WE’RE WORKING ON A BILL TO SOLVE THE CREDIT CARD PROBLEM”Speaking to reporters yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener said that Turkey has a total of 29 million credit cards, adding that the payment of only 1% of these was late. “We’re trying to reach a bill in order to overcome this problem and to make sure banks adopt common standards,” he said. Sener added that the government wanted no one to be put out on the issue. /Aksam/[10] AGAR ATTENDS CONFERENCE ON SMEsOpposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar yesterday charged that the International Monetary Fund had mortgaged Turkey’s future. Speaking at a seminar entitled, “Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMES) in the Process of European Union Membership,” Agar criticized the government’s policies on SMES, calling on the government to give them more support. “No government can go forward while ignoring the problems of these businesses,” he said. Commenting on budget debates this week in Parliament, Agar urged deputies to produce serious policies rather than useless squabbles in order to find solutions to the country’s problems. /Turkiye/[11] PRIVATE STATIONS TO GET PERMISSION FOR KURDISH BROADCASTINGSupreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK) head Zahid Akman yesterday said that the groundwork to allow broadcasts in ethnic languages and dialects had reached a certain level under which permission will be granted to private broadcasters who fulfill the requirements as of January. At a press conference alongside fellow RTUK members, Akman spoke about 2005 and work coming up next year. “Although we gave the broadcasters notices to address deficiencies via two official letters, some irregular documents remain,” said Akman. “The infrastructure of our regional provinces will be completed and the necessary permission for broadcasters will be granted in January.” /Cumhuriyet/[12] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[13] NEXT YEAR OUR RELATIONS WITH EU MIGHT BE FROZEN BY SEMIH IDIZ (MILLIYET)Columnist Semih Idiz comments on Turkish-EU relations. A summary of his column is as follows:“There are obviously certain factors signaling a rough road ahead between Turkey and the European Union in 2006. The first is the Cyprus issue and the second is certain shortcomings in the implementation of EU reforms. At this point, the problem of freedom of expression comes to the foreground. Let’s first consider the Cyprus issue. When Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener said that we wouldn’t open our harbors to Greek Cypriots, Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister George Iacovou said that if Turkey continues this attitude, it would shortly cause a crisis in the EU. Greek Cypriots have been feeling stronger within the EU, which they succeeded in joining alone thanks to former Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas. Therefore, they’re trying to spark this crisis themselves by sending ship to a Turkish harbor at the beginning of 2006 in order to test Ankara. As Turkey will turn back the ships, Greek Cypriots and its supporters will raise hell about it within the EU on the grounds that Turkey has violated its Customs Union responsibilities. Some circles within the EU openly predict that the membership negotiations might be frozen due to this crisis. There’s even another possibility for Turkey here, which is that our talks will be frozen before they even really begin. Ankara wanted these talks to be started on even a few issues (following the screening) before the first half of 2006 Austrian term presidency. Then it would be easier to overcome the possible problems coming from Austria. However, this didn’t happen. Our public prosecutors insist on not recognizing freedom of expression and filed new changes against author Orhan Pamuk and editor Hrant Dink and came down on Turkish-EU Joint Parliament Chairman Joost Lagendijk, which clearly shows the problem. In sum, 2006 won’t be enough for Turkey to get rid of its tarnished image in terms of personal freedoms. It even seems that we won’t get better, but worse on this issue. Of course, many people in Turkey want us to loosen the ties with the EU or even break off these relations. I’ll address at a later date how these people have no reasonable alternative. In short, the presence of certain domestic circles who hope for help from the tension with the EU can’t be ignored. In spite of the foundation which was laid for EU membership in 2005, it’s still hard to say that the construction will start in 2006 in earnest. This isn’t pessimism, but truth shown by the data. Maybe this will be a good thing, because sometimes the best way of seeing the value of something is losing it. Therefore, if our relations with the EU are suspended, people could see what it would cost Turkey.” ARCHIVE <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js"> </script> Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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