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Turkish Press Review, 06-04-12
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
12.04.2006
FUNERAL HELD FOR SOLDIERS
KILLED IN COPTER CRASH
GOVT UNVEILS SOCIAL SECURITY
REFORM PACKAGE
PM ERDOGAN MEETS WITH AKP
DEPUTIES FROM EAST, SOUTHEAST
ERDOGAN MEETS WITH IRANIAN
AMBASSADOR DOWLATABADI
ISLAMOPHOBIA TOPS AGENDA AT OIC
MEETING
CHP LEADER BAYKAL CRITICIZES
GOVT STANCE ON TERRORISM
PACE CALLS ON PKK TO END
TERRORISM
PKK PLANS TO MAKE IRAN SECOND
HOME
TUSIAD OPTIMISTIC ABOUT EU
PROCESS
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
BAYKAL’S REMARKS ON OZKOK BY
FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] FUNERAL HELD FOR SOLDIERS KILLED IN
COPTER CRASH
[02] GOVT UNVEILS SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM
PACKAGE
[03] PM ERDOGAN MEETS WITH AKP DEPUTIES
FROM EAST, SOUTHEAST
[04] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH IRANIAN
AMBASSADOR DOWLATABADI
[05] ISLAMOPHOBIA TOPS AGENDA AT OIC
MEETING
[06] CHP LEADER BAYKAL CRITICIZES GOVT
STANCE ON TERRORISM
[07] PACE CALLS ON PKK TO END TERRORISM
[08] PKK PLANS TO MAKE IRAN SECOND HOME
[09] TUSIAD OPTIMISTIC ABOUT EU PROCESS
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[11] BAYKAL’S REMARKS ON OZKOK BY
FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
[01] FUNERAL HELD FOR SOLDIERS KILLED IN
COPTER CRASH
A military funeral ceremony was
held yesterday in Ankara for four soldiers
killed in a helicopter crash in Kocaeli. In
addition to senior military commanders, Cabinet
ministers were present at the ceremony. The four
soldiers – Ulas Turk, Serkan Karanlik, Fatih
Kaban and Turgut Cicek – died when their
helicopter crashed into a roof of a factory on
Monday in Kocaeli. /Turkiye/
[02] GOVT UNVEILS SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM
PACKAGE
In a speech yesterday at his
Justice and Development Party (AKP) group
gathering in Parliament, Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan unveiled a social security reform
package demanded by the International Monetary
Fund under a $10 billion loan deal. He stated
that work on the reform package had been
finalized and Parliament is expected to begin
debate on the package in the coming days. Under
the new system, the Social Security Authority
(SSK), Pensioners’ Fund and Social Insurance for
the Self-Employed (Bag-Kur) will function under
a single social security authority, which means
equal health services and retirement benefits
for members of all three. Stressing that the
move was the one of the most radical reforms in
the history of the Republic of Turkey, the
premier said that no previous government could
dare do it. He also dismissed allegations that
the package was an “investment” for upcoming
parliamentary elections. /Hurriyet/
[03] PM ERDOGAN MEETS WITH AKP DEPUTIES
FROM EAST, SOUTHEAST
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan yesterday met with more than 70 deputies
from his ruling Justice and Development Party
(AKP) from eastern and southeastern provinces to
discuss the recent terrorist incidents. During
the meeting, Bingol Deputy Mahfuz Guler and
Bitlis Deputy, who suggested issuing a general
pardon, were scolded by Erdogan. Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul, Justice Minister Cemil
Cicek, Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu and
Parliament’s Interior Affairs Commission head
Koksal Toptan also participated in the meeting,
which took place in the Parliament. /Cumuriyet/
[04] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH IRANIAN
AMBASSADOR DOWLATABADI
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan last week had a “secret” meeting with
Firooz Dowlatabadi, Iran’s ambassador to Ankara.
During the meeting, which took place amid
mounting tension between Washington and Tehran,
Erdogan told the ambassador about the
international community’s expectations on Iran’s
nuclear program, and said that Iran should
cooperate with the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA). Government formation talks in
Iraq and the terrorist PKK’s infiltrating Turkey
from across the border were also discussed. No
statements were released about the meeting,
which wasn’t on the premier’s official schedule.
/Cumhuriyet/
[05] ISLAMOPHOBIA TOPS AGENDA AT OIC
MEETING
Debates over Islamophobia will
constitute the most important part of the fourth
meeting of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) Parliaments Union meeting
scheduled for today in Istanbul, said Parliament
Speaker Bulent Arinc yesterday. Before the
opening of the gathering, Arinc told reporters
that Islamic countries would give important
messages to the entire world during the
conference and draw attention to the so-called
clash of civilizations. He also expressed his
pleasure about the meeting being held in
Istanbul, which he said was the capital of
civilizations as it unites two continents and
two cultures. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan are expected
to attend the meeting today. /Turkish Daily
News/
[06] CHP LEADER BAYKAL CRITICIZES GOVT
STANCE ON TERRORISM
Main opposition Republican
People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal
yesterday spoke about domestic and foreign
developments, with recent terrorist incidents as
Topic A. The CHP leader said that the prime
minister wasn’t doing what’s necessary to stop
terrorism. Claiming that Turkey is being dragged
into a quagmire of terrorism, Baykal asserted
the government is confused about the issue,
adding, “The Turkish nation will give the
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) whatever they want
for the struggle against terrorism.” /Star/
[07] PACE CALLS ON PKK TO END TERRORISM
The Parliamentarians Assembly
of the Council of the Europe (PACE) yesterday
supported a declaration calling on the PKK to
unconditionally end its terrorist attacks. A
total of 153 PACE members signed the declaration
prepared by Turkish parliamentarians. Ruling
Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputy Murat
Mercan stated that the European parliamentarians
had lent powerful support to the call for the
PKK to stop its bloody attacks. /Turkiye/
[08] PKK PLANS TO MAKE IRAN SECOND HOME
The terrorist PKK_Kongra-Gel is
taking action to make Iran its second base of
operations after Iraq. The terrorist
organization is getting prepared to establish
two new parties in Iran named the “Independent
Party of Kurdistan” and “Kavva.” The terrorist
PKK has killed 83 Iranian soldiers in conflicts
in the border villages over the last five years.
The terror group’s diffusion strategy and its
efforts to gain political power have multiplied
tension in Iran. After giving covert support to
the PKK for years, Iran has started to conduct
determined operations to get rid of PKK
terrorists from its territory. Iran recently
arrested seven terrorists and has surrendered 50
PKK militants to Turkey over the last three
years. /Star/
[09] TUSIAD OPTIMISTIC ABOUT EU PROCESS
Turkish Industrialists’ and
Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) Executive
Board Chairman Omer Sabanci yesterday said that
Turkey’s European Union membership process was
an important part of the nation’s restructuring,
and added, “Turkey’s speedy progress during the
negotiation process will depend on continuing
and deepening its economic reform process. We’re
realistic and optimistic about this process.”
Speaking at a seminar entitled, “The Negotiating
Process with the EU: Medium-Term Perspective”
Sabanci said, “On the other hand, it’s
beneficial at this point to stress the role of
political and economic stability in our
country,” adding that Turkey’s EU membership was
a process which would be achieved in eight or 10
years under normal conditions and that the
majority of the nation supported successful
completion of the process. In related news,
Turkey’s Chief EU negotiator Ali Babacan stated
that steps would be taken to strengthen
political reforms, and added, “Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul will perhaps today or tomorrow
announce a new political reform package. Fresh
acceleration will be gained with a new wave of
reform.” /Aksam/
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[11] BAYKAL’S REMARKS ON OZKOK BY
FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
Columnist Fikret Bila comments on the fight
against terrorism. A summary of his column is as
follows: “Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader
Deniz Baykal yesterday stated that the
government was neglecting the fight against
terrorism and made interesting remarks about
Chief of General of Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok. When
I spoke with Baykal following his party’s group
meeting, he urged Gen. Ozkok to speak openly
about his requests about the fight against
terrorism. Baykal said that Gen. Ozkok and Gen.
Ilker Basbug, deputy chief of General Staff, had
brought up measures needed to fight terrorism
and added, ‘The chief of General Staff should
openly say what they want and why these requests
haven’t been met. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and the government shouldn’t be allowed
to neglect these requests, because the fight
against terrorism is vitally important. The
chief of staff said what they wanted and these
requests were reported in the media. In
addition, Gen. Basbug also listed his requests
during a press conference at that time. However,
none of them were realized and they were
neglected for months. So I say that the chief of
General Staff should say them openly, because
the importance of this is understood much better
now that terrorism has escalated.’ Baykal also
stressed Gen. Ozkok’s requests and the views he
expressed in an interview with the Association
of Retired Officers’ journal last December. In
that interview, Ozkok complained about the
regulations on legal and preventive
investigations and said that terrorists had
gained great advantages due to the waste of time
created by such procedures. He recalled that
when European Union member countries faced
terrorism, they had put tougher laws for
fighting terrorism and terrorists into effect
immediately. He added that Turkey’s trend was in
the opposite direction and that the
effectiveness of the Anti-Terror law had fallen.
Ozkok said that under new regulations,
terrorists wouldn’t act as comfortably as they
do now. Baykal said that the government had
ignored these requests for months and that it
had said that it would work on the law only
after terrorism took the lives of 15 people over
the last 10 days. Baykal also referred to
Commander Alim Yilmaz’s funeral ceremony and
added, ’There was the funeral ceremony of one
officer and soldier. This grieved our hearts
terribly. We were at the funeral ceremony of our
martyr commander. The chief of General Staff
wasn’t there. He was in southeastern Anatolia,
but as I said, I can understand him very well.
Of course, the duty of a chief of staff isn’t
attending funerals and showing grief. His duty
is to carry out his tasks. If this is prevented
and if there is somebody who is doing this, he
should say this openly. The Turkish Republic is
capable of meeting the needs of its police and
soldiers in the fight against terrorism.’ Baykal
said that everybody should contribute to the
fight against terrorism and that the CHP was
ready for this, but the government was trying to
ignore the issue.”
ARCHIVE
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