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Turkish Press Review, 06-12-08Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning08.12.2006FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS…CONTENTS
[01] ANKARA'S LANDMARK CYPRUS PROPOSAL COULD PROVIDE BREAKTHROUGHIn the midst of discussions of Turkey's European Union membership process between EU leaders, Ankara put forth a surprise proposal to overcome a deadlock with the EU over Cyprus. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday conveyed to Erkki Tuomioja, the foreign minister of EU Term President Finland, Turkey's new proposal, which offers to open one port and one airport to traffic from Greek Cyprus for a period of one year. Turkey said two steps should be taken during this one-year period. The first is that the EU should take steps to fulfill its pledge to ease the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. Furthermore, Ankara asked for a new initiative under the auspices of the United Nations to be started next year to find a comprehensive settlement on the island. Diplomatic sources stated that Turkey is expecting the opening of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' (TRNC) Ercan Airport to international flights and the beginning of direct trade from the Port of Famagusta. Commenting on the move, Tuomioja said that if Turkey were ready to take such a step without preconditions, it would have a positive effect on debates over its membership process. In addition, officials from the EU Commission also welcomed the proposal, but pointed to a lack of information about it. The Commission called on Ankara to make its proposal more concrete. The proposal was also taken up at a meeting of the Committee of the EU Permanent Representatives (COREPER). While, Britain, Spain, Italy and Sweden supported the proposal, in their initial statements, Greece and Greek Cyprus stated that Ankara's offer was unacceptable. COREPER suspended its discussions over Turkey to enable representatives to consult with their own governments. The committee reportedly is expected to resume its debates on the matter on Monday. /All Papers/[02] GREEK CYPRIOTS: "ERCAN AIRPORT CAN'T BE OPENED"While the Greek Cypriots yesterday rejected Turkey's proposal to break the Cyprus deadlock, European Union countries welcomed the proposal cautiously but positively. The Greek Cypriot administration stated they would never accept the opening of Ercan Airport for international flights. Greek Cypriot administration spokesperson Hristodulos Pashiardis said, "Such a thing would mean indirectly recognizing the Turkish Cypriot state." Greek Cypriot main opposition Democratic Mobilization Party (DISI) Co-Chair Averof Neofitu described Ankara's move as "a Turkish diplomatic effort to create a smokescreen." Greek Foreign Ministry spokesperson Giorgos Koumoutsakos said the customs agreement Turkey signed in July 2005, known as the Ankara Protocol, requires Turkey to open its entire territory to trade from all EU member states, including Greek Cyprus, not just some ports. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said, "Turkey appears to be cautiously prepared to make a concession." He added, "If the proposals produce constructive consequences, they might create a positive atmosphere during next week's diplomatic talks, at the EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday and the EU leaders summit on Dec. 14-15." The proposal submitted to the EU by Turkey was evaluated as a "good signal" by Italy. /Milliyet/[03] DENKTAS: "IF ANKARA'S OFFER INTRODUCES THE EXISTENCE OF THE TRNC, EVERYTHING WILL BE THINKABLE"Former Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas stated yesterday that if Turkey's new offer means the end of the isolation of the TRNC, this would open up all possibilities. Asked about Turkey's offer, Denktas said the Cyprus problem could only be solved by the two communities through taking into consideration the existence of two states, warning that other proposals would amount to abject submission. "If the offer introduces the existence of TRNC, everything will be thinkable," he added. Meanwhile, TRNC President Mehmet Ali Talat said that he considered Ankara's proposal new, genuine and positive. After meeting with Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot in The Hague, Talat told reporters that the Greek Cypriots' reaction to the Turkish offer was strange, adding, "The EU should see this attitude and understand. What can I say? We make reasonable and logical proposals, but the Greek Cypriots reject them. Because they think they will get concessions from Turkey by presenting their requests as preconditions." /Milliyet/[04] CHP'S BAYKAL CONDEMNS PROPOSAL AS DE FACTO RECOGNITION OF GREEK CYPRUSMain opposition leader Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday condemned Ankara's new proposal to open one port and one airport to Greek Cypriot vessels. Calling it a break from Turkey's longstanding Cyprus policy, Baykal said, "There's no difference between opening one and opening them all. We're abandoning the right to tell the Greek Cypriots, ‘We don't recognize you.' Opening a port and airport means recognizing Greek Cyprus as a state. If we do this, the Treaty of Lausanne and the London Agreement, which are the basis of Turkey's views on Cyprus, would be invalid." /Aksam/[05] TALAT TOURS EUROPEAN COUNTRIES TO SEEK SUPPORT FOR TRNC'S CAUSETurkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat, accompanied by a delegation, yesterday paid one-day visit to the Netherlands to exchange views with Dutch officials on the Cyprus issue. Following talks with Foreign Minister Bernard Bot, the TRNC president returned to Brussels. /Turkiye/[06] ECHR POINTS TO TRNC COMMISSION FOR GREEK CYPRIOT CASESThe European Court of Human Rights yesterday released a critical decision affecting some 1,200 Greek Cypriots seeking the return of their property in Northern Cyprus and compensation for the loss of its use. The court ordered Turkey to pay 800,000 euros compensation to an applicant, roughly the same amount offered by the Property Commission established by Turkish Cypriot authorities. More importantly, the court welcomed the steps taken by the Turkish side to establish a domestic remedy in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and moreover ruled that the new compensation and restitution mechanism established by the Turkish Cypriots meets -- in principle -- the court's standards. /Turkiye/[07] US' IRAQ STUDY GROUP: "WE UNDERSTAND TURKEY'S CONCERNS"The new 160-page report of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group written by US scholars and senior politicians contains sections on Turkey. These sections emphasize the importance for Turkey of Iraq's unity and blocking the terrorist PKK. The report, which calls the PKK a terrorist organization, benefits from input from Turkey's Washington Ambassador Nabi Sensoy as well as other important statesmen. In a statement about the report, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that they were following developments. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Namik Tan said, "We'll evaluate the outcome and determine our policy accordingly." /Aksam/[08] PAMUK ADDRESSES SWEDISH ACADEMY AHEAD OF PRIZE CEREMONYOrhan Pamuk, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature, last evening addressed a gathering held at the Sweden Royal Science Academy. During his nearly one-hour speech, Pamuk told distinguished guests about his relationship with literature through his father's writings. Pamuk will receive his Nobel during a ceremony in Stockholm on Sunday. /Milliyet/FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS… [09] DIPLOMACY WITH RED LINESBY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)Columnist Oktay Eksi comments on last week's recommendation of the EU Commission and Turkey's counter-proposal. A summary of his column is as follows: "It seems that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is again having some difficulty over a ‘red line' in our foreign policy. We said that we wouldn't open our ports unless the European Union ends the isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). We also said that we've fulfilled our obligations and now it's the EU's turn. Yesterday's news showed that our government made another proposal with the mediation of Finland. If the EU opens the TRNC's Ercan Airport to international flights and the port of Magosa to trade, then Turkey will open one of its airports (perhaps Antalya) and a seaport (probably Mersin) to the Greek Cypriots. And we would close them if the Cyprus problem isn't solved within one year. The Greek Cypriots immediately rejected the proposal. And we entered a new deadlock. It doesn't matter if the EU freezes eight chapters or 18… In order to ask Turkey to keep its promise, the EU should show that it keeps its own promises. There's nothing that Turkey can do until then. We didn't start our negotiations two years ago, and Turkey can live without the EU." [10] A PRIZE IN MY MOTHER TONGUEBY ISMET BERKAN (RADIKAL)Columnist Ismet Berkan comments on his visit to Sweden to witness Nobel Prize winner Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk's speech. A summary of his column is as follows: "At the airport in Sweden, the police asked me why I came. When I told her that I'd come to see the Nobel ceremony and that I was a journalist, she said, ‘Do you know Orhan Pamuk? What a great honor,' and finished my entrance procedure. Then I saw that all of my friends had similar experiences with visa officers there. Another official at the Turkish Airlines (THY) service desk, who is probably from India, also asked if I was going there for Orhan Pamuk and told me how he liked Pamuk's books ‘Snow' and ‘Istanbul: Memories and the City.' The hotel we're staying at is like the Nobel center. The Nobel Academy has a desk here and they help journalists like me to attend the ceremony. There are a lot of journalists from around the world but understandably, the number of Turkish reporters is especially high. I shortly got used to seeing Pamuk's name or picture on big posters all around the city, as if it were quite ordinary. But, this isn't the case. It's normal for everybody to deal with the Nobel in Sweden, but Pamuk's image took up a full page in German daily Frankfurter Algemeine yesterday. Many other newspapers and TV stations talk or write about him, but some people in our country try to belittle Pamuk's success and turn it into a tabloid issue. As a journalist, I've witnessed many historic events. This is the chance given to me by my profession. And now I will witness a Nobel Prize ceremony received by a Turkish person in the Turkish language. As of this writing, Pamuk hasn't yet made his speech for the prize. We'll leave the hotel soon and hear his speech. Although Pamuk can speak English very well, he will speak in Turkish, because he received this prize as he wrote his novel in Turkish and elevated the Turkish language. Although some people feel jealousy and hatred, I'm proud and happy that a person who wrote a novel in my mother tongue won the Nobel Prize. Taking a novel in your hands and spending your days and nights with a work which takes thousands of different meanings from a writer's own world establishes a special and even personal relationship with that writer. Once this tie is established, it's very hard for this to be broken. I've seen how a novelist can be a great hero for ordinary people. Once I ate at a restaurant with novelist Yasar Kemal. I was very happy to see that the people who saw him at the restaurant were very interested in him and some people also competed with each other to hold his hand or take his photo on the street. Now I have similar feelings, because I know that Pamuk also established this very special and personal relationship with the people, no matter what the media says about him. A newspaper article, a meaningless accusation or jealousy can't break this relationship between Pamuk and his readers. Now I have an appointment with history." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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