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Turkish Press Review, 06-06-08Turkish 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 morning08.06.2006FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…CONTENTS
[01] SEZER ADDRESSES ISRAELI KNESSET, HOLDS BILATERAL TALKS WITH ISRAELI OFFICIALSPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer, currently in Israel for an official visit, yesterday met with his Israeli counterpart Moshe Katsav to discuss bilateral relations. Later Sezer addressed the Israeli Knesset, saying that Turkey is privileged to have the friendship of both Israel and Palestine. “Turkey considers this privilege a responsibility,” he said, adding that Ankara wanted the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to be solved on the basis of the roadmap and two equal states. “We expect the Israeli prime minister to meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas as soon as possible,” added Sezer. For her part, Israeli Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik said that the Israeli nation admired Turkey, adding that they had followed Turkish Republic founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Later, Sezer held bilateral talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and main opposition leader Benyamin Netanyahu. During their meeting, Olmert stated that Israel was worried about Iran’s nuclear program. Sezer stressed the program should carried out transparently. /Sabah/[02] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH LEBANESE PMPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met with his visiting Lebanese counterpart Fouad Siniora. At a press conference after their meeting, Erdogan said that Turkey was doing its best to ensure peace in the region and would continue to do so. Commenting on Iran’s controversial nuclear program, Erdogan said that Ankara desired a peaceful resolution to the issue through diplomatic means. For his part, Siniora stated that Turkey played a key role for stability in the region. Backing Turkey’s Cyprus stance, the Lebanese premier said that his country was ready to do whatever was needed to end the international isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The two leaders also pledged to develop bilateral economic ties. Later, in the evening, Erdogan hosted a dinner in honor of Siniora at the Prime Ministry’s official residence. Speaking there, Siniora invited Erdogan to visit Beirut in the near future. /Turkiye/[03] ERDOGAN, OZKOK DISCUSS SECURITY ISSUESPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok yesterday held talks at the Prime Ministry. During the one-and-a-half- hour meeting, the premier and top commander reportedly focused on domestic and external security issues. /Aksam/[04] FM GUL: “THERE’S NO NEED FOR A NEW STRATEGY ON CYRPRUS”Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Foreign Minister Serdar Denktas yesterday met with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. During the meeting, Denktas said, “In response to our good intentions Greek Cypriots are determined not to take steps. Shouldn’t we do something new as a response to their attitude?” Gul said, “Now the world has begun to see that [Greek Cypriot administration leader Tassos] Papadopoulos doesn’t favor peace and a united Cypriot state,” adding, “As long as the Greek Cypriots follow this policy, they will put themselves in a bad position. Germany’s stance is finally clear. There’s no need to draw up a new strategy against Papadopoulos. The Greek Cypriots should do something.” In related news, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s meeting with TRNC President Mehmet Ali Talat set for tomorrow was seen as a warning signal to the Greek Cypriots. After news of the meeting came out, Greek Cyprus’ ambassador to Berlin went to the German Foreign Ministry to file a protest. /Hurriyet/[05] GENERAL STAFF URGES MEDIA NOT TO PROMOTE TERRORSpeaking at a meeting yesterday organized by the General Staff in Ankara, General Staff Education Department Director Maj. Gen. Ali Erdinc said that giving terrorists the spotlight only serves their so-called cause. Stressing that the military fighting terrorism was not enough, Erdinc urged the media to back anti-terror efforts, adding that it had a key role to play, including not painting terrorists as successful and defusing possible public panics. The two-day gathering features 60 experts from a host of countries, including NATO member states, to discuss the media’s role in fighting terrorism. /Turkiye/[06] ANAVATAN LEADER MUMCU: “BAYLKAL GAVE AN ULTIMATUM TO THE GOVT”Opposition Motherland Party (ANAVATAN) leader Erkan Mumcu yesterday criticized main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal’s seven-point action plan, saying, “He gave an ultimatum to the government. And this is called populism.” Speaking at his party group meeting, Mumcu said that there have been irregularities with the majority of public tenders during the Justice and Development (AKP) party’s rule and that those who bring up corruption allegations are kicked out of the party. /Cumhuriyet/[07] HARBOR CRISIS BETWEEN TURKEY AND THE EUAs a result of Greek Cypriot pressure, the European Union’s drive to link Turkey’s negotiation process to the condition of opening its airports and harbors to Greek Cypriots has created a new crisis between Ankara and Brussels. Greek Cypriots want to put statements directly linking Turkey’s negotiation process and the ports issue into next Monday’s Association Council statement. During the EU Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) meeting, no settlement was reached. Britain objected to the Greek Cypriot proposal and stated that it wouldn’t allow such a statement in the document. Meanwhile, speaking with EU Term President Austria’s Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik over the telephone, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday said that linking the negotiation process to the Cyprus condition was unacceptable. Gul also spoke with EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn. /Hurriyet/[08] BABACAN: “THERE WILL BE NO REVISION IN INFLATION TARGET OF 5%”Appearing on television yesterday, State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan commented on recent high inflation figures, saying that there would be no revision in the 2006 inflation target of 5%. “No revision is planned, ” he said. Babacan stated that fluctuations in the markets were due to international factors, adding that market actors concerned about these fluctuations wanted to profit from this atmosphere. Asked about the proper level of the exchange rate, Babacan said that the right level was set by the market. Saying that final revisions to Turkey’s letter of intent (LOI) were being made, Babacan added that the government was waiting for the International Monetary Fund to complete the third and fourth review of its IMF-supported economic program. /Sabah/[09] MONETARY POLICY COUNCIL DECIDES TO RAISE SHORT-TERM INTEREST 1.75 POINTSThe Central Bank Monetary Policy Council, at an extraordinary meeting yesterday, decided to raise short-term interest rates by 1.75 points. With this increase, interest rose from 13.25% to 15%. The council, raising interest for the first time in five years, will continue to follow developments in the markets. In related news, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener said that he didn’t want to comment on the decision since the CB is an independent institution. /Milliyet/[10] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…[11] WHY DOESN’T THE US INVITE ERDOGAN? BY CUNEYT ULSEVER (HURRIYET)Columnist Cuneyt Ulsever comments on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s planned visit to the US. A summary of his column is as follows:“Firstly, I’d like to say that I very much support the Foreign Ministry’s Middle East policy. In addition, I consider the press information_discussion meetings periodically held by Turkey’s special representative to Iraq Oguz Celikkol, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Namik Tan and chief Prime Ministry advisor Ahmet Davutoglu very useful in terms of participatory democracy. I can see that being a diplomat is hard work. Turkey has recently been playing an active and leading role both on Iraq and Iran. Thus, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted to visit US President George W. Bush in Washington and the Foreign Ministry applied to the US towards this end. As I understand it, before such a request is announced publicly, the preliminary acceptance of the other side is needed. I had thought that this approval came through, but that no date had been set yet. But Hurriyet reported yesterday that the visit Erdogan requested to the US to discuss the Iran, Iraq, Israel and Palestinian issues has been postponed to this fall, as an appointment from the White House didn’t come through. It added that when reporters asked Erdogan when the visit would happen, he said fall at the latest. It’s clear the request was politely rejected. Why? It’s so hard to understand why this request was postponed in a period in which Turkey is making positive contributions to the US’ Middle East policies. Correspondent Yasemin Congar implied that the visit would be postponed, but her reason for this was very interesting. Congar wrote that the US didn’t want to be seen as taking sides in recent sensitive balances in where Turkey figures in. This suggests that if the US invites Erdogan, the government wouldn’t like to create the impression that it’s taking sides. Who is the US afraid of hurting in Turkey? Let’s say it openly: if the US has such a fear, its sensitivity must be towards not hurting the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). It’s been said that an ‘excellent relationship’ was rebuilt between Ankara and Washington, that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had a great impact on Bush and that she wanted to work closely with the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. Indeed, Rice telephoned Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to ask for our support on the day when she was to make a new initiative on Iran. Circles close to the government say that the US criticisms come from the Pentagon, but that the US president still listens to the State Department. Now this picture has been shattered! The rejection of the request clearly indicates that Turkey has a very tarnished image.” 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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