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Turkish Press Review, 08-03-11Turkish 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 morning11.03.2008CONTENTS
[01] GUL, TRNC’S TALAT TO ATTEND OIC SUMMIT IN SENEGALPresident Abdullah Gul and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) leader Mehmet Ali Talat are due to travel to Dakar, Senegal, to attend a two-day Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC) heads of state and government summit. The meeting, which starts on Thursday, will focus on a wave of Islamophobia in the West and ways to repair Islam’s image. The OIC is also expected to make moves to end the international isolation of the TRNC. Gul is expected to hold bilateral meetings with leaders of Islamic countries on the sidelines of the gathering. In related news, an OIC foreign ministers meeting began in Dakar yesterday, with Foreign Minister Ali Babacan representing Turkey. /Turkiye/[02] ERDOGAN TO TOUR SOUTHEASTERN PROVINCESPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will travel to southeastern Turkish provinces this weekend. He will attend his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) women and youth congress in Siirt and Batman on Saturday, and then Sanliurfa and Mardin on Sunday. During his two-day trip, Erdogan will reportedly promote his government’s initiatives for the region. /Cumhuriyet/[03] BUYUKANIT: “OPPOSITION CRITICISM INSULTED THE TSK AND OVERSHADOWED OUR SUCCESS”Recent opposition criticism of Turkey’s cross-border land operation into northern Iraq insulted the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and overshadowed its recent successes, charged Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit yesterday. He made the remarks to reporters before the beginning of the Second International Symposium on Global Terrorism and International Cooperation, organized by the Ankara-based Centre of Excellence Defense Against Terrorism (TMMM). Asked if he had overreacted to opposition party criticism that the land operation had ended prematurely, Buyukanit said that he never allows someone to insult the TSK. “A shadow was cast over operation’s success,” he added. Delivering the symposium’s opening speech, Buyukanit said that terrorist groups are trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear ones. “Terrorists see the nation- state as a major threat to their survival,” he continued. “It is clear that no nation-state can succeed against terrorists without international cooperation. For that reason, nation-states should think internationally and act regionally.” Buyukanit stated that terrorist groups use modern communication technologies to influence the international public. After the symposium, Buyukanit said that he had “unfortunately” been pulled into arguing with opposition parties over the cross-border operation. /Hurriyet- Sabah/[04] US’ CHENEY SET TO VISIT TURKEY NEXT WEEKUS Vice President Dick Cheney will reportedly begin a trip to the region, including Turkey, this Sunday. “President (George W.) Bush has asked the vice president to travel to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank, and Turkey for discussions with these key partners on issues of mutual interest, ” said a White House statement. “The vice president will meet with Sultan Qaboos of Oman, King Abdullah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister (Ehud) Olmert of Israel, President (Mahmoud) Abbas and Prime Minister (Salam) Fayyad of the Palestinian Territories, President (Abdullah) Gul and Prime Minister (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan of Turkey, as well as senior officials of their respective governments.” /Star/[05] PARLIAMENT SPEAKER RECEIVES DTP DEPUTIESParliament Speaker Koksal Toptan yesterday received Democratic Society Party (DTP) group leader Ahmet Turk. DTP Diyarbakir Deputy Selahattin Demirtas also attended the meeting. In related news, President Abdullah Gul today will receive Turk, Demirtas and DTP Co-Chair Emine Ayna and the party’s deputy group leader, Fatma Kurtulan. /Hurriyet/[06] GONUL TO MEET WITH BALKAN DEFENSE MINISTERS IN SOFIADefense ministers from Balkan countries will meet in Sofia today under the auspices of the Southeastern Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP). Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul will represent Turkey at the meeting, where security, cooperation, and defense policies for development in Southeastern Europe will top discussions. Another subject will be recent developments in Kosovo. /Turkish Daily News/[07] CHP: “WE HAVE NO INTENTION OF INSULTING OR DEMORALIZING THE TURKISH ARMED FORCES”Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Mustafa Ozyurek yesterday said that his party has gotten the impression that the US pushed for a swift end to Turkey’s recent cross-border land operation into northern Iraq. “We have no intention of insulting the success of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) or demoralizing them,” he added. “We’re not seeking to lengthen our discussion with the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).” /Hurriyet/FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… [08] THE TSK’S GLOBAL ANTI-TERROR INITIATIVEBY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA (HURRIYET)Columnist Ismail Kucukkaya comments on a symposium this week on cooperation against global terrorism. A summary of his column is as follows. “Some say that in the age of ‘Super Terrorism,’ the Turkish Armed Forces is taking the initiative to take the fight against global terrorism to the international arena. In an era when there’s a tendency worldwide to identify terrorism with Islam, Ankara this week hosted the second Symposium on Global Terrorism and International Cooperation with very high- level international participation. The symposium is gradually becoming a regular event. Besides the chiefs of general staff of five countries, many respected academics, journalists and military officials also took part in the symposium, which started yesterday. Global terrorism is a fact of the modern world. How best to fight it is not yet clear. As Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said yesterday, we’re talking about something imprecise, because there’s even not a definition of terrorism which is accepted worldwide. Similarly, Turkey has been unable to get its own definition of terrorism accepted internationally, even though the terrorist PKK is very real. As a result, cooperation with Turkey has fallen short, and it continues to be stabbed in the back by, for example, some countries allowing Roj-TV to broadcast terrorist group propaganda in the heart of Europe, or the release of Fehriye Erdal from the European Union’s capital. Now the military is looking for a way to make this cooperation, which has never emerged among civilians, a reality. After all, they speak each other’s language. But it’s wrong to see this initiative only along military lines. Among the participants, there were many representatives from the world of academia. We saw at the symposium that mutual understanding is developing slowly, amid rising military interest in the issue. Moreover, we’re seeing that the military has started to consider fighting terrorism from a broader perspective. When I talked to former Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok yesterday, he said that people are still confused, but the situation is improving. Ozkok added that the first meeting was held during his tenure and the current meeting was also going well and that Gen. Buyukanit’s speech was also very successful. In Buyukanit’s speech, the emphasis on Pakistan was both important and interesting. Buyukanit urged international support for the Pakistani administration, warning that if this support is absent, a terrorist group may obtain nuclear weapons for the first time. On the balancing role of nation-states in anti-terror efforts, Buyukanit said that nation-states should think about terrorism internationally and act regionally. It’s very important that these calls come from Turkey. The Ankara-based Centre of Excellence Defense Against Terrorism, which organized the symposium, has an important role. I’m talking about an institution which works with experts from many countries, who examine the issue academically and teach courses. As usual, the event was successful and messages reached their destinations. Consequently, the TSK leadership again showed that it’s interested in not only the military dimension of the problem, but also in its diplomatic dimension. During a coffee break, Buyukanit again rebuffed criticisms of Turkey’s recent land operation into northern Iraq. He said that they can’t enjoy their success in the operation. These words should be highlighted. He’s right. This debate should end. A commander I talked to yesterday said that when US Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Ankara last week, most of Turkey’s units had already withdrawn from Iraq. He also said, wouldn’t it have been a shame to have sent them back after Gates spoke?” Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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