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Turkish Press Review, 07-05-22Turkish 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 morning22.05.2007CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN TO MEET WITH TUSIADIn the run up to July's general elections, the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) has decided to meet with political party leaders to ensure the continuation of Turkey's political, economic and social stability as well as its European Union membership bid. The first such meeting will take place tomorrow with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul. TUSIAD is also seeking to meet with leaders of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Democrat Party (DP). /Star/[02] BAYKAL: "TURKEY NEEDS CHP RULE"Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday said that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) should go down in defeat in the general elections set for July 22, and added, "We'll present a brand new choice to the people. Our main slogan will be: We won't let people be squashed, we won't let the country be robbed, and we won't let the state be divided. We're not talking nonsense. Our preparations are complete." Speaking to Flash TV, Baykal said, "I want to rule Turkey. I believe that Turkey needs the CHP at the helm." /Cumhuriyet/[03] ANTI-TERROR ENVOY BASER REMOVED FROM OFFICEThe ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) yesterday removed from office Edip Baser, Turkey's special envoy against the terrorist PKK. Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ambassador Rafet Akgunay was appointed to replace him. Baser reportedly was dismissed due to comments appearing in yesterday's newspapers. Baser had said that he would step down next month, adding that the envoy mechanism jointly established by Turkey, the US and Iraq against the PKK had completed its mission. Speaking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting, State Minister Abdullatif Sener said that joint efforts in Iraq were continuing successfully. /Milliyet/[04] US EMBASSY SPOKESPERSON: "TURKEY AND THE US WILL CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER AGAINST THE PKK"Kathy Schallow, spokesperson for US Ambassador to Ankara Ross Wilson, yesterday said that the US was to working with Turkey against the terrorist PKK. Asked about recent remarks by Turkey's Special Anti-Terror Envoy Edip Baser, who was removed from office yesterday, Schallow declined to respond directly, but said, "The US government remains firmly committed to working with Turkey against the terrorist PKK." Schallow also said that they believed that the envoy dialogue on this issue was a positive part of the process. /Sabah/[05] TURKISH DELEGATION TO VISIT IRAQ THIS WEEKENDA delegation headed by Ambassador Oguz Celikkol, Turkey's special envoy to Iraq, is set to travel there this weekend for talks with top officials. During their two-day stay in Baghdad, Celikkol and his delegation are expected to meet with Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. A meeting with President Jalal Talabani will not be possible, as he is currently visiting the US. Furthermore, Celikkol is not scheduled to meet with Massoud Barzani, the leader of the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region. Ankara has accused Barzani of supporting the terrorist PKK and tolerating its attacks, as well as of having an unfriendly stance towards Turkey. /Turkiye/[06] NURI OK FINISHES OUT TERM AS CHIEF PROSECUTORUpon completing his four-year term in office, High Court of Appeals' Republican Chief Prosecutor Nuri Ok yesterday handed over his post to Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya. The new chief prosecutor began his duties after paying a visit to Ataturk's mausoleum, Anitkabir, with his fellow top court prosecutors. /Hurriyet/[07] PARTIES POUR MONEY INTO CAMPAIGNSIn the runup to July's general elections, political parties are investing millions of YTL to best their opponents. The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has taken the monetary lead with a budget of YTL 80 million, followed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Democrat Party (DP), with YTL 50 million and YTL 40 million in their respective coffers. Parties will need to spend significant amounts of money on posters, flags, organizing rallies and renting trucks to transport equipment over the next two months. In addition, deputy candidates will need to finance their own campaigns. Furthermore, the Turkish Treasury also provides grants to major parties before the elections. The AKP's election grant is YTL 94.1 million, while the CHP's is YTL 53.2 million. /Turkish Daily News/[08] BULGARIAN-TURKISH PARTY TO SEND FIVE DEPUTIES TO EPBulgaria's Movement for Rights and Freedoms Party (HOH), a predominantly ethnic Turkish party, won a plurality of votes in Sunday elections to select 18 deputies for the European Parliament. The HOH took 26% of the votes in the elections, where voter turnout was 29%. HOH leader Ahmet Dogan said that his party had prepared well for the elections and added, "Our efforts bore fruit. The voters, who understand the value of Europe, made us the country's biggest political power. The HOH will send five deputies to the EP." /Aksam/[09] ANKARA HOSTS INTL DEFENSE INDUSTRY FAIRTurkey's International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) 2007 will begin today in Ankara with the participation of some 500 companies from 50 countries from all over the world. Some 160 Turkish companies will take part in the fair to showcase their new products. The fair, organized under the auspices of the Defense Ministry, will take place in Ankara's Hippodrome through Friday. /Turkiye/FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... [10] DECLARATION OF FAILUREBY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)Columnist Oktay Eksi comments on the removal from office yesterday of Turkey's Special Anti-Terror Envoy Edip Baser. A summary of his column is as follows. "Those who think that Turkey will end the PKK terror by cooperating with the US need not wait in futility any longer. Retired Gen. Edip Baser, who was appointed Turkey's special anti-terror envoy last year, threw in the towel yesterday. In a recent interview, Baser said that Turkey had come to a point where he was expecting concrete steps from Washington. He further stressed that unless Washington takes such steps, he personally believes that the envoy mechanism should be abandoned. Baser's remarks show the failure of the envoy mechanism, which has kept the Turkish public waiting for the last nine months. The appointment of Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ambassador Rafet Akgunay to replace Baser also shows that the government expects nothing to come from the mechanism. In short, we're playing a game whose beginning and end are known to all, because there's no possibility Washington will greenlight Turkey conducting a military operation in northern Iraq, and our government lacks the courage and political will to do so on its own. We aren't talking about if doing an operation would be right or not, but only trying to point out that no progress has been seen, despite Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit saying that a military operation in northern Iraq would be helpful and that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) was ready for one. Let's consider those who argued conditions for an operation aren't right. If Washington is sincere about fighting terrorism, couldn't it cut off the terrorist PKK's financial and logistical support? Have we seen a single concrete step from US Special Anti-Terror Envoy Joseph Ralston on the issue except for the raid - possibly made with forewarning - on the Mahmur camp? That raid could have been a beginning, but it wasn't. Then came the reports that hundreds of thousands of weapons from Washington had come into the PKK's possession. We only heard those who said significant developments would come soon. We're still waiting." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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