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Turkish Press Review, 06-04-11Turkish 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> <style type="text_css"> <!-- .baslik { margin-right:0cm; margin-left:0cm; margin-top:1cm; font-size:12.0pt; color:#000099; text-align: justify; } --> <_style> e-mail : newspot@byegm.gov.tr <caption> <_caption> Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning11.04.2006FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] SEZER VISITS BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINAPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday traveled to Bosnia-Herzegovina to pay a two-day visit. On the first day of his stay, Sezer met with Presidential Council head Suleyman Tihic and other council members. Speaking to the press after the gathering, the two leaders pointed to the strong ties between their nations and vowed to boost cooperation in all areas. /Turkiye/[02] “THE MOTHERLAND CAN’T BE DIVIDED,” CHANT THOUSANDSThousands of people, along with top political leaders and senior commanders, yesterday attended a funeral in Ankara of an officer killed in a mine attack in the southeastern province of Elazig over the weekend. Among those present at the funeral of Lt. Col. Alim Yilmaz were Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, other political party leaders, Cabinet ministers, commanders, and soldiers as well as representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and many ordinary people. Furthermore, Pvt. Sinan Gumustas, who was killed along with Yilmaz, was also buried after a military funeral held in Istanbul yesterday. During the funerals, thousands of mourners chanted slogans cursing terrorism and shouted, “The motherland cannot be divided.” /All Papers/ [03] ERDOGAN, ARINC ATTEND CEREMONY MARKING BIRTHDAY OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMEDAddressing a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Muhammed, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc yesterday proposed that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan present roses to all political party leaders to honor the occasion. Present at the ceremony were Erdogan, Cabinet ministers, deputies, and several bureaucrats. /Aksam/ [04] GUL MEETS WITH CONGRESSMAN AND TURKISH-AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP GROUP CO- CHAIRForeign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday met with visiting US Congressman Robert Wexler, a Democrat and co-chair of the Turkish-American Friendship Group, to discuss a number of issues, including the recent Hamas visit to Turkey. During the meeting, Gul stated that the visit could be misunderstood, but there was no need to further discuss the issue. For his part, Wexler said that the US was aware of Turkey’s key role in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East. Gul also commented on terrorism, saying that concrete steps needed to be taken to counter terrorists targeting Turkey. Wexler replied that measures on intelligence and financial resources were being taken, but that time was needed for them to yield results. /Aksam/[05] OZKOK: “NO TERRORIST GROUP CAN DIVIDE TURKEY OR CHANGE THE REGIME”Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok yesterday visited Diyarbakir Governor Efkan Ala to discuss recent incidents in the province. He was accompanied by Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit and other commanders. Speaking after the meeting, Ozkok said that Turkey had recently faced a number of incidents due to provocations, adding that no terrorist group could divide Turkey or change the regime. “These incidents don’t represent the citizens, and people of the province don’t approve of the incidents,” he said. “We love the locals and we serve them all. The people instigating these incidents are blind to both the past and the future, and they did the greatest harm to people here.” /Milliyet/[06] PACE TO CONDEMN TERRORIST PKKMembers of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) will call on the terrorist PKK to end its terrorist attacks. “We condemn and reject the violent activities of the PKK_Kongra-Gel terrorist organization which has recently escalated its criminal activities which resulted in loss of life and material damage in Turkey,” says the statement signed by over 100 deputies, set to be released today. The statement prepared by Turkish parliamentarians says that terrorism poses one of the greatest threats to international peace and security, as well as to democratic institutions. “We ask the PKK_Kongra-Gel to stop its terrorist activities immediately and unconditionally and lay down arms. All political demands and aspirations must be channeled through the democratic process,” says the statement. /Cumhuriyet/[07] CABINET TO SEND ANTI-TERROR LAW TO PARLIAMENTThe Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday discussed the Anti-Terrorism Law. The Cabinet will sign the revised law and send it Parliament very soon, said Justice Minister and Government spokesman Cemil Cicek. Speaking after a four-hour Cabinet meeting, Cicek said, “Terrorism can’t be stopped by laws alone. The struggle against terrorism isn’t a passing matter. It requires international cooperation,” adding that the revised law strikes a balance between democracy and security. /Star/[08] AMID TENSION, NO CONCESSIONS TO THE EUAfter experiencing their biggest gain in 41 years, Turkish-European Union relations have entered a strained period due to political problems in the membership negotiations screening process. The EU’s insistence on opening Turkish harbors to Greek Cypriot airplanes and ships during the screening process started five months ago, and this plus Turkey seeking to have the embargo lifted from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) have led to tension between Ankara and Brussels. The chill in relations has intensified since EU organs blamed the government for the recent events in the southeast. Escalating tension due to the EU’s trying to drive Turkey into a corner and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement, “We’re not eager to enter the EU” is being debated at Turkish Cabinet meetings. After evaluating the developments, the government will determine a new strategy related to the EU, which was put on the back burner after EU talks started last fall. /Star/[09] FOUR SOLDIERS KILLED IN HELICOPTER CRASHA military helicopter crashed into the roof of a factory in the western province of Kocaeli yesterday morning, killing four soldiers and injuring two factory workers. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. /Sabah/[10] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS[11] ONCE MORE, HEADSCARVES BY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)Columnist Oktay Eksi comments on the headscarf issue in Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows:“I think the final ruling made by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) about Leyla Sahin, who was expelled by Istanbul University for wearing an Islamic headscarf, wasn’t instructive enough. According to reporter Nur Batur, the United Nations’ Commission on Discrimination against Women made a decision in the same direction. Batur stated that the commission decided that a petition from Rahime Kayhan, who lost her position at school because of her headscarf, wasn’t acceptable. Actually, in Turkey, Kayhan went to all the appropriate offices to seek her rights before making this application, and all of them indicated that she couldn’t go to school with this headscarf and teach. They added that this wasn’t a matter of freedom of religion or conscience, but that she was aiming to put pressure on others’ freedom of religion and conscience. However, maybe, the wish to force the society to harmonize with her own rules dominated, instead of complying with the rules of the democratic society in which she lives. When the doors were closed in Turkey, she applied to the United Nations’ Commission on Discrimination against Women. However, her gamble failed. Actually, this time, the rejection was given based on procedural matters, because in her application, Kayhan claimed that the Turkish state was interfering in her freedom of religion and conscience. However, as the commission only deals with complaints of discrimination against women, it told her that her issue was outside its mandate. If you go to a court which deals with such issues as burglary and ask it to resolve a commercial dispute, they would send you away. However, the issue here seems to be different from this in essence. This is the struggle of an imposing mentality to make others accept that her act is legal. She says that her act is right and those who suspect it are wrong and that therefore they should change. Even if the opposite was true, they would respect the principle of the rule of law. However, as you remember, when the Sahin trial was rejected by the ECHR, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan couldn’t help saying, ‘I’m surprised with these rulings. I will comply with it, but I won’t consider it right in terms of rights and freedoms. The ECHR says that belief can never trump the law. The court has no right to say something about the issue. You should ask an authority of that religion. Is there a dictate for this in the religion? If there is, you must obey this.’ I don’t know if he read what was written and said about these words. However, even if he did, I would swear that nothing has changed.” 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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