Turkish Press Review, 06-08-14

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From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>

14.08.2006

CONTENTS

[01] ERDOGAN SPEAKS WITH LEBANESE PM

[01] ERDOGAN SPEAKS WITH LEBANESE PM

During a meeting today, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to discuss the number of the Turkish soldiers to be sent to Lebanon with Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok and Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit. Military sources said that Turkish soldiers to be assigned to the UN’s peacekeeping force in Lebanon, set to include 15,000 soldiers, would number in the range of 800 to 1,200. Turkish soldiers won’t assume the task of combat for establishing peace but will perform peacekeeping tasks and assume an active role in reconstructing regions devastated by the Israeli attacks. /Hurriyet/[03] FM GUL: “THE TERRORIST PKK SOWS DISCORD BETWEEN TURKEY AND IRAQ”

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday welcomed the news that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had called Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tell him that they had closed the terrorist PKK offices in Iraq. “This isn’t only Turkey’s problem, but also Iraq’s,” said Gul. “A country which lets people attack its neighbor from its territory would certainly feel indisposed. The Iraqi government feels indisposed about this. They said this during our meetings.” He added, “Turkey and Iraq have always been together throughout history. The terrorist PKK sows discord between us. Iraqis should know this.” /Star/[04] ARINC: “AN INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE THRESHOLD WOULD BE UNDEMOCRATIC”

Speaking in Balikesir over the weekend, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said yesterday that introducing a special election threshold for independent candidates would be undemocratic. Arinc predicted that certain pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) members could establish a party group in Parliament after being elected as independent deputies in the next general elections set for fall 2007. He added that he found the current 10 percent threshold very high. /The New Anatolian/[05] AKP TO CELEBRATE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) today will celebrate its fifth anniversary in Turkish political life. AKP leader and Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to hold a press conference to evaluate his party’s fifth year and the government’s performance during its rule. In addition, Erdogan is set to meet with Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilimi Ozkok and Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit. /Turkiye/[06] MINE EXPLOSION KILLS TWO POLICEMEN

Two policemen were killed and one was injured yesterday by a mine laid on a road in Tunceli by terrorists. The bodies of Recep Tokur and Abdulgafur Erkan were laid to rest in their hometowns, Samsun and Sanliurfa respectively, and mourners at the funerals denounced terrorist PKK militants. /Milliyet/[07] TURKEY WELCOMES UN RESOLUTION ON LEBANON

Turkey has welcomed the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution on Lebanon. A written statement released by the Foreign Ministry over the weekend said that the resolution passed last Friday was a noteworthy step and would pave the way for a permanent solution to the conflict to stop clashes before the crisis grows worse. Furthermore, Turkish scholar Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the secretary-general of the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), also welcomed the resolution, hailing it as “a step forward.” /Turkiye-Turkish Daily News/[08] IRAN’S OIL MINISTER TO VISIT TURKEY TOMORROW

Iranian Oil Minister Kazem Vazari-Hamaneh, accompanied by a delegation of oil producers, is scheduled to pay a visit to Turkey beginning tomorrow. Expanding bilateral relations between the two countries, exports of Iranian natural gas to Turkey and transporting this gas to Europe via Turkey are reportedly among the main topics expected to be discussed during the visit. /Turkish Daily News/[09] BAYKAL: “THE CHP WON’T ALLOW RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OR RELIGIOUS LAW IN TURKEY”

Speaking in Kahramanmaras over the weekend, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said that his party wouldn’t allow religious education or religious law in Turkey, adding that people couldn’t be discriminated against due to their religious beliefs. Commenting on general elections to be held in fall 2007, Baykal predicted that CHP would come to power in those elections. “We’ll come to power and a new day will dawn in Turkey,” said Baykal. /Sabah/[10] MUMCU: “YILMAZ’S STATEMENTS WERE MISUNDERSTOOD”

Appearing on television yesterday, Motherland Party (ANAVATAN) Party leader Erkan Mumcu answered questions on how the balances would change if former ANAVATAN leader Mesut Yilmaz came back to the party. “Yilmaz is the founder of the party and he didn’t go anywhere,” said Mumcu. “There is no need to make conclusions from his statements,” he said, adding that those statements had been misunderstood. He also briefed reporters on his recent meeting with Yilmaz, saying that they didn’t agree on a plan or project. /Sabah/ [11] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[00] THE NEW COLD WAR AND THINGS PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO MENTIONBY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)

Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on the fight against terror. A summary of her column is as follows:

“The fight against terror has changed colors. Now the things I want to explain may seem like conspiracy theories, but I don’t give credit to such theories. This month there was a development that got my attention. The fight against terror is changing. It isn't the struggle for security by counteracting terrorists that we used to know. Its name is the cold war. This concept didn't come from me. The following is a quote from a conference on 'The US Approach to the Fight Against Terror' from a recently retired US general who served in Afghanistan: ‘In the old Cold War, we mobilized our ideology against Communism. The new cold war is the war of values. This is the fight to spread our democratic values.’ He stressed that the duty of the military is not limited to the fight against terror, but also includes the ability to change public opinion, and to help draw up political, economic, and social programs for the future. Despite the mistakes in Afghanistan and Iraq, those wars gave a good lesson, including the concept of the new cold war.

There's no doubt that a new discussion had begun among world leaders. We ordinary people thought that the Cold War disappeared after the collapse of the Soviet Union. But now the neocons in the US are trying to create another bipolar world. On the one side there are the values of the West and others, and on the other side the values of the East, with the radical Islamists. The danger here is that this list doesn’t include just Osama bid Laden and his allies, but it is very long. For example some even include Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as seen in Frank Gaffney column last year in The Washington Times. If it was only a few conservatives using the term ‘Islamic fascism,’ then it wouldn't be taken seriously, but US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney started to use this concept when talking about the conflicts in Palestine and Iraq. US President George W. Bush also started to use it after the terror plot last week. Blair also joined this choir.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the following in his speech in Los Angeles on Aug. 1: ‘The fight against terror is a global war for global values. The aim of this war it to make Islam more modern in its internal and external relations. This war is about showing that our system of values is stronger than theirs. The Israel question is a part of the broad struggle for the essence of the region.’

After the Sept. 11 attacks, the most difficult question was how to define terror. Now people are starting to say things they hadn't mentioned before. Claiming war between Eastern and Western values means reviving the Crusader mentality. While this approach has a great impact on democratization, it is also a development benefiting radical Islamists.”

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