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Turkish Press Review, 07-10-03
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
03.10.2007
CONTENTS
[01] GUL TRAVELS TO STRASBOURG FOR PACE MEETINGS
[02] ERDOGAN URGES YES VOTE IN CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM
[03] BABACAN: “US WEAPONS SHOWING UP IN PKK HANDS SHOWS A LACK OF CONTROL”
[04] CABINET MINISTERS VISIT SIRNAK, SITE OF TERRORIST ATTACK
[05] BOMBS KILL ONE IN IZMIR
[06] ROTH URGES TERRORIST PKK TO LAY DOWN ITS ARMS
[07] SHP LEADER CRITICIZES AKP METHODS FOR DRAFTING NEW CONSTITUTION
[08] FORD OTOSAN PRIMARY SCHOOL OPENS IN IZMIT
[09] CeBIT TECH FAIR BEGINS IN ISTANBUL
[01] GUL TRAVELS TO STRASBOURG FOR PACE MEETINGS
President Abdullah Gul, accompanied by his wife along with Deputy Prime
Minister Cemil Cicek and Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin, yesterday flew
to Strasbourg, France, to attend fall meetings of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Before his departure, Gul told
reporters said that he was glad to be the first Turkish president to visit
the Council of Europe. After his arrival, in the evening, Gul met with
representatives of Turkish associations in Strasbourg and today is set to
address PACE’s General Assembly. He is also expected to meet separately
with PACE President Rene Van Der Linden and Thomas Hammarberg, the Council
of Europe’s human rights commissioner, as well as Yavuz Mildon, the head
of the Council’s Chamber of Regions. The president is set to return to
Turkey tomorrow. /All Papers/
[02] ERDOGAN URGES YES VOTE IN CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM
Addressing his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) parliamentary
group meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged people
to vote yes in a referendum on constitutional changes scheduled for Oct.
21. Erdogan said the changes would put the right to elect Turkey’s
presidents in the hands of the people, adding that popular election of the
president would be an example of the best of democracy. Furthermore, the
premier underlined that his government is the guarantor of the Republic of
Turkey, and its democratic, secular and social state under the rule of law.
/Turkiye/
[03] BABACAN: “US WEAPONS SHOWING UP IN PKK HANDS SHOWS A LACK OF
CONTROL”
A probe of how US-made weapons fell into the terrorist PKK’s hands
hasn’t concluded yet, but clearly serious mistakes were made, said
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan yesterday. In New York for the UN General
Assembly, Babacan told reporters that Iraq has become a virtual training
ground for the terrorist PKK and that for those weapons to end up in PKK
hands, the Americans must have failed to exercise control in the midst of a
chaotic, complicated atmosphere. He added, however, that the completed
investigation would give a fuller picture. Stating that in past years
Turkey has sought the support of other countries against the PKK, but in
vain, Babacan added that fighting terrorism was a priority for Ankara and
that he had expressed this to both US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
and his Iraqi counterpart and asked for their support. He added that Turkey
would continue its determined anti-terrorist efforts. /Hurriyet/
[04] CABINET MINISTERS VISIT SIRNAK, SITE OF TERRORIST ATTACK
Following last week’s terrorist attack in the town of Beytussebap, Sirnak,
which took 12 lives, State Minister Mehmet Simsek, Interior Minister Besir
Atalay and Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Mehdi Eker arrived
yesterday in the region. Speaking to locals, the Cabinet ministers
condemned the terrorists and pledged government support to the families of
the victims. In related news, European Union Commissioner Olli Rehn issued
a message condemning the terrorist attack and expressing his condolences
for its victims. He also stated that the EU backs Turkey’s anti-terrorist
efforts. /Star/
[05] BOMBS KILL ONE IN IZMIR
Two successive bomb explosions outside a shopping center in the Aegean city
of Izmir yesterday killed one person and injured four others. Defense
Minister Vecdi Gonul visited the site of attack and was briefed by local
officials about the ongoing investigation. Tight security measures were
reportedly taken. /Milliyet/
[06] ROTH URGES TERRORIST PKK TO LAY DOWN ITS ARMS
Claudia Roth, co-chair of the German Greens and vice-chair of the German-
Turkish Interparliamentary Friendship Group, said yesterday that the pro-
Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) shouldn’t be held responsible for
recent deadly terrorist PKK attacks. Speaking to reporters on a visit to
Ankara, Roth said that PKK should lay down its arms and help create an
atmosphere of peace. Then Roth visited Parliament’s European Union
Harmonization and Human Rights Commission, where its chairman, Zafer Uskul,
criticized German immigration laws. In response, Roth admitted that her
country has a double standard against Turkey. She said that that if she
wanted to marry a Turk, he would have to speak fluent German, but there was
no such requirement for marriages with the French. /Hurriyet/
[07] SHP LEADER CRITICIZES AKP METHODS FOR DRAFTING NEW CONSTITUTION
Social Democrat People’s Party (SHP) leader Murat Karayalcin yesterday
called on all the party’s supporters to vote yes in the Oct. 21
referendum on constitutional changes. Speaking before his party’s Central
Executive Board (MYK) meeting, Karayalcin said that President Abdullah Gul,
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan,
all of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), had showed their
approach to a proposed new constitution (separate from the referendum)
during this week’s opening of the new legislative year. Karayalcin added
that Erdogan’s remarks showed that they are taking the wrong approach to
drafting the text and that Gul should know that the current efforts would
only deepen national divisions and disagreements. No consensus can be
reached, he said, unless an atmosphere of productive dialogue is created.
/Cumhuriyet/
[08] FORD OTOSAN PRIMARY SCHOOL OPENS IN IZMIT
Izmit’s Ford Otosan Primary School, built under the supervision of the
Vehbi Koc Foundation and financed by Ford Otosan, officially opened
yesterday in a ceremony attended by Education Minister Huseyni Celik.
Citing Vehbi Koc’s principle “Give what you get from the nation back to
the nation,” Koc Holding Chairman Emeritus Rahmi Koc said that they were
glad to do their civic duty. He added that the foundation’s investments
in education, health and culture were continuing and that over the last two
years alone it has invested $83 million in these areas. /Hurriyet/
[09] CeBIT TECH FAIR BEGINS IN ISTANBUL
The CeBIT Bilisim Eurasia information technology and communications fair
kicked off yesterday at Istanbul’s TUYAP Congress and Convention Center.
Some 150,000 people are expected to visit the five-day fair, where some 900
firms will show more than 500 new products. Addressing the fair’s opening,
Industry and Commerce Minister Zafer Caglayan vowed his ministry’s full
support to the development of information technologies. /Aksam/
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