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Turkish Press Review, 06-03-27Turkish 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 morning27.03.2006ERDOGAN ADDRESSES HIS PARTY IN ANKARA CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “THERE COULD BE A LOSS OF CONFIDENCE” AGAR: “WE’LL SOLVE THE NATION’S PROBLEMS” WASHINGTON WOOS TURKEY’S SUPPORT AGAINST IRAN PAPADOPOULOS WANTS TO MEET WITH TALAT TURKEY DIVISIONS DIVIDE EU AS THY FLIGHTS BEGIN, TRANSPORTATION MINISTER VISITS OMAN BABACAN: “THE CB’S INDEPENDENCE WON’T CHANGE WHOEVER BECOMES GOVERNOR” FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... THE ARAB LEAGUE AND THE EU BY ERDAL SAFAK (SABAH)CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN ADDRESSES HIS PARTY IN ANKARASpeaking at a meeting of his party in Ankara over the weekend, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan commented on opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal’s criticisms of the Central Bank governor appointment process, saying that Baykal should mind his own business and his own house. Touching on Turkey’s European Union membership bid, Erdogan said that no one should try to derail the nation’s EU bid, adding that in three years the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government had fulfilled Union criteria which former governments couldn’t do in 40. He stressed that if Turkey manages to transform sporadic development into a true development process, then it would become a “star country” in the upcoming period. In related news, Erdogan is due to travel to Sudan today to attend a two-day Arab League Summit in the capital of Khartoum. /Star/[02] CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “THERE COULD BE A LOSS OF CONFIDENCE”Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday criticized the government again. Speaking to CNN Turk, Baykal said that appointment of the Central Bank governor shouldn’t be seen as an area for political struggle, adding, “Today, the CB is set up as an independent institution and Turkey’s relation with the world finance system has advanced greatly by relying on the policies which the CB implements.” Baykal stated that stability in the Turkish economy could not be provided by hot money, and also warned about a loss of confidence. Baykal cited a statement by the IMF head saying, “You might fall into a loss of confidence.” Also touching on the recent Semdinli indictment debates, Baykal said that the indictment prepared in Van on the incidents wasn’t a legal document. /Star/[03] AGAR: “WE’LL SOLVE THE NATION’S PROBLEMS”Opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar yesterday criticized the government, saying that his party would solve the nation’s problems. “We’ll come to power in order to put an end to poverty,” he said. “We’ll create new jobs and achieve economic development. We’re the cure for those who seek jobs abroad since they couldn’t find any in Turkey.” /Turkiye/[04] WASHINGTON WOOS TURKEY’S SUPPORT AGAINST IRANAfter not getting what it wanted three years ago from the Turkish Parliament on the eve of the Iraq war, the U.S. is now taking a closer look at the groups within Parliament. The US’ Ankara Embassy has accelerated lobbying to learn the attitude of the government and opposition on the Iran nuclear crisis. US diplomats have increased their contacts with deputies in order to find support for their push on Iran. US diplomats have determined the leading names of the political parties and frequently invite deputies to luncheons held at the embassy. The US’ change on its Iran strategy is being explained, and a message for solving the problem through political pressure rather than military action is being conveyed during luncheons where deputies from all parties are invited. /Aksam/[05] PAPADOPOULOS WANTS TO MEET WITH TALATGreek Cypriot news agency CNA reported yesterday that Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos has expressed his wish to meet with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat to discuss humanitarian issues, mainly connected to missing persons. Papadopoulos stated he hoped this meeting would take place “if and when the first missing persons session takes place together with Red Cross representatives, and this would be the only topic of the session.” /Turkiye/[06] IRAQ SPLIT WITH THE USA statement by Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, saying , “Iraq has to get stronger to conduct a fight against the terrorist PKK,” has once more revealed the profound split between the US and Ankara over fighting the terrorist PKK and again shown Washington’s unwillingness to grapple with the terror group. During his visit to Ankara, Gen. Pace was asked when initiatives would be accelerated on the PKK presence in northern Iraq. Gen. Pace said that the conditions in the region had become more serious due to risks there but that they were doing their best. “After the Iraqi security forces are ready, the US, Iraq and Turkey can work jointly on the PKK,” added Gen. Pace. /Cumhuriyet/[07] TURKEY DIVISIONS DIVIDE EUThe demand by a group of European Union countries, led by France, to bring political criteria to chapters in Turkey’s negotiations has led to factions in the EU. Diplomats of EU countries gathered on the working group level couldn’t reach a consensus on France’s proposal. Many EU countries have reportedly supported France, not including Denmark or EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn. /Cumhuriyet/[08] AS THY FLIGHTS BEGIN, TRANSPORTATION MINISTER VISITS OMANTransportation Minister Binali Yildirim yesterday traveled to Oman’s capital Muscat to mark the beginning of Turkish Airlines (THY) flights from Doha, Qatar to Muscat. During his stay, Yildirim met with Omani Industry Minister Maqbool Bin Ali Sultan to discuss a number of issues. Speaking afterwards, Yildirim said that flights from Istanbul to Muscat via Doha were a door from Turkey to Gulf countries, adding that there were increasing relations between Turkey and Gulf countries. Yildirim said that he and Sultan had discussed ways for Turkish businessmen to contribute to Oman in the construction and contracting sectors. /Turkiye/[09] BABACAN: “THE CB’S INDEPENDENCE WON’T CHANGE WHOEVER BECOMES GOVERNOR”State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan yesterday commented on the ongoing process of finding a new Central Bank governor, saying that the foreign exchange rate, capital movement, price stability and Central Bank’s independence wouldn’t change whoever is appointed CB head. “The basic policies of the CB will remain the same,” said Babacan. “No one should question the credibility of the CB.” He stressed that the CB’s priority was price stability, which would never change. “We won’t forsake the current foreign exchange policy,” he said, adding that forsaking the policy would mean playing with fire. Babacan further stated that Turkey’s relations with the International Monetary Fund were better than ever. /Hurriyet/[10] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[11] THE ARAB LEAGUE AND THE EU BY ERDAL SAFAK (SABAH)Columnist Erdal Safak comments on the Turkey’s relations with the Arab League. A summary of his column is as follows:“The visit to be paid by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Sudan today has gotten little public attention. However, this visit constitutes the turning point of the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) openings. Turkey is now embracing the Arab world, which it turned its back on when it was founded in 1923. His visit to Sudan will rank among his top contacts abroad, because Erdogan will not only go to Sudan’s capital of Khartoum, but also participate in the Arab League summit as an honorary guest. What’s more, Turkey is participating among the members of Arab League in this summit with the title of ‘permanent guest.’ The Turkish public isn’t aware of the importance of this visit, but all the foreign capitals are looking at it. They know that this visit is a breaking point, or to put in better, the operation of mending broken bones. They’re right, because Erdogan’s joining the Arab League summit means the end of Turkey’s 80-year policies amounting to ‘An Arab can’t be a friend.’ Now, let’s summarize the process of Turkey’s move towards the Arab League. During Erdogan’s visit to Cairo in January 2003 just after the AKP came to power, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul delivered Turkey’s request to join the bloc to Arab League General Secretary Amr Moussa. This initiative got a lot of debate in the 22-member group. Those who opposed it listed many reasons, including Kemalist secularism and the special relationship between Turkey and Israel. Some of them even cited identity and culture by saying that Arabic will soon be a minority language in the Arab League. They’re just like the Europeans who oppose Turkey’s European Union membership for similar reasons. What’s more, last year’s Arab League summit in Algeria turned into a show of those opposed to Turkey. Even Libya leader Muammar Qaddafi insulted Turkey, and most of the participants welcomed his stance with laughter. However, this in now all gone. The process of approving a ‘memorandum of understanding’ signed by Gul and Amr Moussa in September 2004 in New York was completed, and Erdogan was officially invited to the summit to be held in Khartoum. As I mentioned at the beginning, Turkey’s Arab League membership can help solve such problems as the dialogue of civilizations and the consensus of religions, for the following reasons: ? In addition to Turkey, NATO will also be represented in the Arab League (let’s not forget that we’re the only member of NATO from the Islamic world). ? A bridge is being established between Turkey and the European Union and the Arab League. Now the EU and the Arab League will be able to produce common policies through Ankara. ? With Turkey, the Arab League is embracing a Muslim world which established the first diplomatic relationship with Israel and which has sound relations of alliance with this country. Who knows, maybe this development will open the way for former Israeli Prime Minister Simon Perez’s vision: ‘One day, we’ll participate in the Arab League and then it will become the Middle East League’.” 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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