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Turkish Press Review, 06-02-22Turkish 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 morning22.02.2006FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...CONTENTS
[01] SEZER TO VISIT BULGARIAPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer will go to Sofia today as the official guest of his Bulgarian counterpart Georgi Pirvanov. A Presidential Press Center statement said that during the meetings, possibilities for strengthening cooperation between the two countries would be discussed as well as mutual relations. /Cumhuriyet/[02] ERDOGAN: “PEACE IN THE MIDEAST IS IMPORTANT FOR TURKEY”Speaking at his party’s group meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan commented on the visit of a Hamas delegation to Turkey last week, saying that Ankara had fulfilled its historical and moral responsibility by giving proper messages to the delegation. Erdogan stated that the government hadn’t done anything to embarrass the Turkish nation, nor would it ever. Commenting on opposition parties’ criticisms of his government’s foreign policy, Erdogan called the policy “coherent.” The premier stressed that Ankara can’t be a bystander to the conflict, adding that peace in the Middle East was also important for Turkey. “We have to play an active role on the issue,” he said. Later, Erdogan attended a meeting of his party in Kusadasi. Addressing the gathering, Erdogan said that members of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) should talk to the nation about what the government is doing. “We hope to win next year’s general elections and get into Parliament with an even bigger majority,” added Erdogan. /Turkiye/[03] GUL TO ATTEND UNOFFICIAL MEETING OF EUROPEAN UNION FMSForeign Minister Abdullah Gul is reportedly set to make the opening speech at a European Union foreign ministers unofficial meeting next month. EU Term President Austria’s spokesman Nikola-Johannes Donig said that a Turkey- EU Troika Summit would be held on March 8 in Vienna, adding that an unofficial EU foreign ministers meeting will be held on March 10-11 in Salzburg, and Gul will attend the meeting upon the invitation of Austria’s Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik. “Turkey is part of the UN’s Alliance of Civilizations,” said Donig. “Turkey is the only country which has the right to speak on behalf of mediation in Europe, because the great majority of its population is Muslim and at the same time it is a candidate for the EU.” /Cumhuriyet/[04] BAYKAL AGAIN CRITICIZES VISIT OF HAMAS DELEGATIONSpeaking at his party’s group meeting yesterday, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal again spoke on last week’s visit of a Hamas delegation to Ankara, saying that the government shouldn’t conduct an “emotion-driven” foreign policy. “If we allow the Palestinian- Israeli conflict to affect our country, then we’ll end up paying the price, ” he warned. Charging that the aim of the contacts with the delegation was unknown, Baykal said that Turkey had lost its chance to play a constructive role in Israeli-Palestinian relations. /Turkiye/[05] AGAR: “THE DYP IS THE MOST DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN TURKEY”Speaking at a meeting of his party in Izmir yesterday, opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar said that the DYP was the most democratic party in Turkey. “We want to come to power in the 2007 elections,” said Agar. Commenting on the problems of the textile sector, Agar said that the sector was one of Turkey’s most important, adding that some 20-25 million people are employed in textiles. Also commenting on last week’s Hamas visit, Agar said that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had avoided meeting the delegation out of fear of a backlash. /Sabah-Turkiye/[06] RTUK MEMBER GURBUZ STEPS DOWNA dispute over mandatory retirement age between the Cankaya Palace and the Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK) ended yesterday with a resignation. RTUK member Ozer Gurbuz quit his post on Tuesday, saying that he had taken this course of action to avoid harming the board and its operations. Under the law, to replace Gurbuz, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) will select a new member for the vacant seat. Sezer had vetoed decisions of the board because Gurbuz was older than civil service mandatory retirement age, while the CHP argued that he was not a civil servant. /Aksam/[07] ISRAELI AMBASSADOR AVIVI VISITS AKP HEADQUARTERSAfter refusing a Foreign Ministry invitation for a briefing on last week’s Ankara visit of a Hamas delegation, Israeli Ambassador to Ankara Pinhas Avivi yesterday visited the headquarters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). After meeting with AKP deputy leaders Saban Disli and Akif Gulle, Avivi said, “It was one of the normal meetings we hold with political parties from time to time. During the meeting, we discussed the future of relations between the sides. Continuation of these relations in the future is important for both sides.” /Star/[08] WASHINGTON TIMES: “US READY TO TRADE WITH TURKISH CYPRIOTS”US daily The Washington Times yesterday reported that the US was preparing to begin direct trade with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The newspaper stated that the US government and US companies were working with the Turkish Cypriots to bring conditions and business practices of potential exporters up to international standards. An official from the State Department explained that the United States sees easing the isolation of Northern Cyprus as the best way to reunify the island. “We’re laying the foundation,” he told the paper, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We provide direct aid to facilitate direct trade. Economic disparity is pretty big between the north and the south right now. To unify, you need to mitigate those disparities." /Hurriyet/[09] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[10] A LOOMING DILEMMA BY ERDAL SAFAK (SABAH)Columnist Erdal Safak comments on Hamas’ recent visit to Ankara and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments about it. A summary of his column is as follows:“There’s a problem about the Hamas visit which has been neglected: The US and the European Union are preparing to impose financial sanctions on Palestine after Hamas comes to power, and Islamic countries will boost their financial aid to Palestine in response. And what of Turkey? We read Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s speech to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) group meeting yesterday, lashing out at criticisms of the Hamas visit to Ankara. We concluded that Erdogan was angry with criticisms saying that the visit was poorly timed and came from an idea of his advisor Ahmet Davutoglu, excluding the Foreign Ministry. However, we have another impression as well. Erdogan is actually vexed by the following question: Considering that you invited them, why did you avoid meeting with them? He also seems worried about claims that he changed his mind on meeting the delegation at the US’ behest. We could see this from this part of the speech: ‘During these meetings both the deputy leader of the AKP and the deputy prime minister delivered messages to the Palestinian delegation expressing the expectations all humanity. Officials from the Foreign Ministry held meetings with the delegation before the meetings held by our foreign minister and party members.’ He talked about Abdullah Gul as the deputy prime minister and then as the foreign minister. He also talked about Mehmet Mir Dengi Firat as the AKP deputy leader and then as a party official. As far as I know, the deputy prime minister powers only take effect when Erdogan is abroad. However, Erdogan was in Ankara at that time. Perhaps Erdogan wanted to say that I didn’t meet with them, but I delegated Gul to open the way to meet with them on behalf of the Prime Ministry and so raised the status of the meeting. Erdogan and Gul will continue to object to criticisms that an unnecessary risk was taken to repeat messages which Hamas already knows. However, they should see that the expected benefit wasn’t ensured. Preventing Hamas from visiting Iran was cited as a reason for inviting Hamas. But then, the delegation defiantly went to Tehran anyway. In Ankara Hamas Political Bureau leader Khaled Mashaal listened to the advice about laying down weapons and renouncing violence and continuing the peace, but then said in Tehran that they would never sit at the table with occupiers and that the resistance could grow stronger. Remember that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak rejected Hamas’ request for an appointment and criticized Turkey and Russia for weakening the chances of softening the group with an ill-timed invitation. Israel stopped sending the taxes that it collected on behalf of Palestine ($5 million per month). The US and the European Union are preparing to suspend financial aid to Palestine and are calling on other countries to do the same. But on the contrary, the Islamic world, led by the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC), is preparing to help Palestine. What will Ankara do? Will Turkey stand with the West’s financial aid cutoff or with the OIC’s support for Palestine? Erdogan said yesterday that if economic methods are used to discipline the new structure in Palestine, that wouldn’t be democracy. However, obviously, problematic days are awaiting the capital city. In addition, if certain parties and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) start a campaign to help Palestine, let’s see the noise about this in the West.” ARCHIVE The news and articles issued in the Turkish Press Review may be quoted from provided due acknowledgement is made. <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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