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Turkish Press Review, 07-10-16Turkish 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 morning16.10.2007FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] GOVT SENDS IRAQ MOTION TO PARLIAMENTFollowing a nearly six-hour Cabinet meeting yesterday, the government sent a motion to Parliament seeking permission for a period of one year for a cross-border operation into northern Iraq. Speaking to reporters, Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek said that the motion only targeted the PKK terrorist group and aimed to eliminate the terrorist threat to Turkey’s peace. The motion is expected to be debated in Parliament tomorrow. /Sabah/[02] SYRIAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT ANKARA TODAYOn an official visit to Ankara, Syria President Bashar al-Assad is set today to meet with Turkish President Abdullah Gul. Bilateral relations between Ankara and Damascus and regional developments are expected to top the discussions, along with recent tension between Israel and Syria. Assad will also meet with Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan. /Aksam/[03] IRAQI VP HASHIMI DUE IN ANKARA TODAYAmid tension over recent deadly PKK attacks, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has dispatched his Vice President Tarik al-Hashimi to visit Turkey. Hashimi is expected to arrive in Ankara at midday today to discuss with Turkish officials the terrorist PKK issue and the government’s motion on a possible cross-border operation. During his two-day stay, Hashimi will meet with President Abdullah Gul and Premier Recep Tayip Erdogan. /Cumhuriyet/[04] ERDOGAN TO VISIT BRITAIN NEXT WEEKPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to visit Britain next Monday. He will meet with his British counterpart Gordon Brown in London. Their talks reportedly will focus on Turkey’s European Union membership negotiations and the fight against the terrorist PKK. /Turkish Daily News/[05] DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF SAYGUN: “FOR ANY CROSS-BORDER OP, WE WILL CONSIDER SEASONAL CONDITIONS”The military’s attitude towards a possible cross-border operation is clear, said Deputy Chief of General Staff Ergin Saygun yesterday. Speaking to journalists at Spain’s national day reception in Ankara, Saygun said that in deciding on such an operation, generals would take into consideration the seasonal conditions. /Aksam/[06] WHITE HOUSE REITERATES OPPOSITION TO HOUSE VOTE ON ARMENIAN RESOLUTIONThe Bush administration yesterday reiterated its opposition to bringing to the House floor an Armenian resolution which was passed last week by the US House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee. "There should be no question of the president's views on this issue and the damage that this resolution can do to our US foreign policy interests," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. "We would strongly encourage the speaker not to bring this to a vote, and should it come to a vote, we will strongly encourage members not to support it. This is not the best way to deal with this issue." /Türkiye/[07] PATRIARCH MUTAFIAN: “THE ARMENIAN RESOLUTION IS A TOOL FOR POLITICAL FODDER IN THE US”Mesrob Mutafian, patriarch of Turkish Armenians, yesterday said the Turkish- Armenian community opposes the resolution regarding the incidents of 1915 which was passed last week by a key US House of Representatives committee. He added that the resolution is a tool for domestic political fodder in the US. /The New Anatolian/[08] IZMIR HOSTS SYMPOSIUM IN BID TO HOST EXPO 2015Some 65 delegates from the Bureau of International Exhibitions (BIE) have arrived in Izmir to participate in the “Expo 2015 Izmir: First International Health for All Symposium” that started yesterday in the candidate city. Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan, accompanied by six Cabinet ministers, welcomed the delegates in Cesme. Addressing the gathering, Erdogan said that Izmir is Turkey’s third-largest city and the country’s gateway to the world. Following the two-day symposium, the guests will proceed to Istanbul and be received by President Abdullah Gul. At the BIE’s meeting in Paris next March, the delegates will reach a final decision on whether Milan or Izmir is awarded the honor of hosting Expo 2015. /Star/FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS [09] WHILE VOTING ON THE MOTIONBY CUNEYT ULSEVER (HURRIYET)Columnist Cuneyt Ulsever comments on a motion to give authorization for a cross-border operation into northern Iraq set to be voted on this week. A summary of his column is as follows: “A motion to give authorization for a cross-border operation into northern Iraq will probably be voted on and passed by Parliament today, and it will be valid for one year. This is the right decision, and to a great extent Parliament will reach a consensus. But after the decision is made, the government, opposition and the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) should think things through with cool heads. Concerning the terrorist attacks of the PKK, all the politicians, military and civilian bureaucrats and intellectuals have to answer two questions and also consider a key fact about the Armenian resolution which was passed last week by US House of Foreign Relations Committee. Those questions are as follows: 1. Who in the PKK made the decision to launch the recent attacks? For example, could convicted PKK head Abdullah Ocalan have given orders from Imrali island, where he’s incarcerated? 2. Why have there been so many attacks of late? Moreover, people should abandon their narrow point of view that if the US administration had wanted, it could have prevented passage of the Armenian resolution, for they should remember that the administration no longer has a majority in the US Congress. In addition, they should consider that Democrats will do anything to make the Republicans look weak, especially in the runup to the presidential and congressional US elections just over a year from now. Let’s go further and predict that the Armenian resolution will be passed by Congress this winter, barring unexpected developments, and President George W. Bush has no authority to veto it. The answers to those questions and reflections on the resolution should lead us to conclude as follows: The last thing that the Bush administration would want at this time is tension in relations with Turkey. Let me say it another way: whoever is influencing the terrorist PKK, they want Turkish-US relations to falter at a time when the US has started to plan its withdrawal from Iraq and thus when it needs Turkey more than ever. Some people know very well that if Turkey goes into northern Iraq before the meeting of countries neighboring Iraq in Istanbul at the end of this month, this could prevent Turkey from playing a dominant role in Iraq and thus in the Middle East. The same people would be very glad if Turkey, bitterly disappointed by both the European Union and the US, grew completely introverted. As it doesn’t want to lose Turkey, the US administration should accept these two points: 1. The US has messed up everything in northern Iraq, because not only the Shiite and Sunni regions, but also northern Iraq is helpless. 2. The US has no right to ask Turkey to be patient. If the US doesn’t want to be at odds with Turkey over northern Iraq, it should take joint action with the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) against the terrorist PKK in northern Iraq, and this action should have direct, concrete results. Now it’s too late for more words. No ruling party in Turkey " even if it came to power not with 47% of the votes, but 97% " could ask the nation to be patient and wait yet again for the US to take action. Washington has no right to ask anything of Ankara. What’s more, the US administration should see that the latest PKK attacks were meant to ruin US plans in Iraq. If Turkey is supposed to help the US get out of the Iraqi quagmire, the US has to help Turkey get out of the PKK mess.” Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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