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Turkish Press Review, 07-12-18Turkish 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 morning18.12.2007CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN: “ISLAM AND TERRORISM ARE IRRECONCILABLE”in the central Anatolian city of Konya yesterday, President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended ceremonies marking the 734th anniversary of the death of mystical poet and philosopher Rumi. During the ceremony, Gul said that today there is a greater need than ever to understand Rumi’s philosophy. "We can make a better world if we try to understand the Rumi’s call for fellowship and divine union," Gul added. Also speaking to the ceremony, Erdogan said that Rumi’s messages were meant for the entire world, adding that Islam means peace and love. "Islam and terrorism are irreconcilable,” he said. Erdogan also attended the inauguration of a new courthouse in Konya. Saying that terrorism saps Turkey’s resources, Erdogan added that the best thing the ruling the Justice and Development (AK) Party has yet done is to put the country in the right direction, in line with republic’s original aims. /Star- Milliyet/[02] PM ERDOGAN TO VISIT SPAIN NEXT MONTHPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend the First Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations to be held in Madrid, Spain on Jan. 15-16. At the meeting, Erdogan is expected to firmly rebuff efforts to downgrade Turkey’s European Union membership bid to a “privileged partnership.” The premier will argue that Turkey presents an opportunity for the EU to implement the Alliance of Civilizations, and is a model country in this project. /Turkiye/[03] BABACAN: “EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THAT OUR ONLY GOAL IS TO FIGHT TERRORISM”Turkey is fighting terrorism using the legal and diplomatic means available to it, said Foreign Minister Ali Babacan yesterday. Speaking to reporters in Paris, while attending a conference of donors to Palestine, Babacan said that Turkey is fighting the terrorist PKK using legal means. Recent airstrikes against the PKK in northern Iraq targeted only the terrorist group and were authorized by Parliament, he added. “Everyone can see our only goal is to fight terrorism,” he said, arguing that Turkey had made this clear. /Star/[04] EU’S NAGY: “WE UNDERSTAND TURKEY NEEDS TO PROTECT ITS PEOPLE”Krisztina Nagy, spokesperson for European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn, yesterday commented on Turkey’s weekend airstrikes against terrorist camps in northern Iraq, saying, “We understand Turkey’s need to protect its citizens.” Stating that the EU is keeping track of developments, Nagy said the European Commission’s views that Turkey is not using disproportionate military force and does respect human rights and the rule of law remain unchanged. In related news, Russian Ambassador to Ankara Vladimir Ivanovskiy yesterday said that terrorism can never be justified for any reason, adding that Russia has also suffered from terrorism and supports Turkey’s anti-terrorist efforts. /Aksam/[05] US: “INTELLIGENCE SHARING TO HELP TURKEY FIGHT THE PKK WILL CONTINUE”Pentagon spokesperson Bryan Whitman yesterday said that the US would continue to give intelligence to Turkey. Speaking to reporters, he added that the US gave intelligence to help Turkey track down the terrorist PKK in northern Iraq, but declined to say if it had provided a target to Turkey. In related news, State Department spokesperson Tom Casey said that they want to see action to eliminate the terrorist PKK. /Sabah/[06] TRNC TO OPEN OFFICE IN ROME TODAYThe Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is set today to open a representative office in Rome, Italy. The opening will be done by TRNC Deputy Prime Minister Turgay Avci. The office aims to publicize the TRNC among Italians and to develop economic, cultural and social relations between the two nations. Turkish Ambassador to Rome Ugur Ziyal and a number of Italian parliamentarians are expected to attend the opening ceremony. /Turkiye/FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... [07] THE RESULTS OF THE AIRSTRIKES SHOULD BE LAID OUTBY CUNEYT ULSEVER (HURRIYET)Columnist Cuneyt Ulsever comments on the weekend air strikes against the terrorist PKK. A summary of his column is as follows: “The international media seems to be in agreement that the recent air operation (against terrorists in northern Iraq) is Turkey’s biggest in years. In addition, nobody is denying that the operation was in self- defense, but opinions about what it accomplished differ. First, it should be mentioned that Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said just afterwards that the US had opened Iraqi airspace to Turkey and that this meant that the operation was approved by Washington. Most of the public thinks that the intelligence for the operation came from the US. But according to Reuters, an official at the US Embassy in Baghdad said that they only got prior notification of the operation and that it was out of the question for them to greenlight any decision. The US didn’t give a military response to the air operation, and even if it didn’t approve of it, obviously, it didn’t object either. But US officials were impolite to rebuff Buyukanit this way. Western sources say that civilian villages were bombed, houses and schools were destroyed, and animals died, but terrorist PKK camps suffered little damage. They say up to seven people died. If villages where civilians lived were really bombed, would the death toll be this low? I want to stress that Turkey is responsible for telling the world about this operation, along with its results. Naturally, Kurds and PKK elements in particular are criticizing it, claiming that it did great harm to civilians. Photos of the ruins of villages said to have been damaged by the airstrikes are being supplied to the Western media. Turkey should have widely distributed satellite photos with the names of the PKK camps which were bombed and details of the damage. The results of this operation should be determined immediately, so that terrorists will worry about their own future and PKK power and be discouraged. Late answers lose much of their effect on morale. My greatest pleasure in this operation is that Turkey was able to show the entire world that it’s the greatest power in the Middle East. Thus should be a warning not only to the PKK, but to all nations about Turkey’s superiority in terms of both technology and the human capital employing it. Thus the results of the operation could be immediately announced to the world in a persuasive way. Otherwise, according to the impression I got from the Western media, a psychological war has started about to undermine this operation. How many PKK camps were damaged and to what extent? This is the question!” Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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