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Turkish Press Review, 02-01-10
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Press
& Information
Turkish
Press
Turkish
Press Review >>
Foreign
Press Guide
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
10.01.2002
CONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT TO PRESENT HISTORIC KORAN TO BUSH
[02] 261 TURKISH SOLDIERS TO BE SENT TO AFGHANISTAN
[03] COALITION LEADERS REACH COMPROMISE ON BANKS' BILL
[04] BAHCELI: "AN INDEPENDENT PRESS SAFEGUARDS DEMOCRACY"
[05] TURK REJECTS "THREE DOORS, THREE LOCKS" PROPOSAL
[06] GUREL: "IF GREEK CYPRIOTS JOIN THE EU, CYPRUS PROBLEM WOULD ESCALATE"
[07] TURKEY LOOKS TO PROTEST SAUDI CASTLE DEMOLITION
[08] INDUSTRIAL ZONE BILL PASSES PARLIAMENT
[09] TURKEY MOVES ON CHECHEN EXTRADITION
[10] ENGINEERING DEANS COUNCIL TO MEET IN ADANA
[11] INDEPENDENT DEPUTY JOINS DYP
[12] ATATURK AIRPORT FOREIGN TERMINAL TURNS TWO
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[14] PIVOTAL COUNTRY TURKEY BY MUSTAFA BALBAY (CUMHURIYET)
[15] ENERGY WAR BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
[01] ECEVIT TO PRESENT HISTORIC KORAN TO BUSH
During his visit to the United States due to begin in four days, Turkish
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is planning to present a facsimile edition of
a historic Koran to US President Bush, reputedly the largest Koran the
Islamic world has ever produced. The original masterwork Koran from which
the copy was made, which is still on display at Istanbul's Topkapi palace,
was over 50 years in the making. /Sabah/
[02] 261 TURKISH SOLDIERS TO BE SENT TO AFGHANISTAN
The Turkish General Staff announced yesterday that the number of Turkish
soldiers to be sent to Afghanistan to participate in the International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) would be 261. This number may reportedly
be increased in the future. The troops will be led by a colonel, but their
departure date has yet to be determined. /Turkiye/
[03] COALITION LEADERS REACH COMPROMISE ON BANKS' BILL
Coalition leaders met yesterday to discuss a controversial bill concerning
banks. Present at the meeting were Prime Minister Bulent
Ecevit, deputy prime ministers Devlet Bahceli, Mesut Y�lmaz and Husamettin
Ozkan, as well as State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis. Following
the meeting, Ecevit told reporters that the meeting had reached a full
compromise on the bill. Recalling that the bill is to be debated in
Parliament today, Ecevit said, "The aim of the new bill is to increase the
bank's support for production and investment. The state will contribute to
these banks in line with their increases in capital and investments. We
will also keep a tight leash on banks' loan transactions." Ecevit added
that Ziraat and Halk Banks would have additional loan resources to give
small and medium sized enterprises
(KOBIs), tradesmen, handicraftsmen and farmers. /Turkiye/
[04] BAHCELI: "AN INDEPENDENT PRESS SAFEGUARDS DEMOCRACY"
Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday said that
the existence of a free and independent press was the safeguard of a
healthy democracy. In a message to mark the Working Journalists' Day,
Bahceli pointed to several great and significant milestones in the Turkish
press in recent years. Stressing that journalists had a number of problems
which need urgent solutions, Bahceli said, "In particular, Turkey's recent
economic crisis has resulted in unemployment among press workers on serious
scale. Their situation has ushered in an era in which workers' rights, as
well as their institutional rights and freedom, came to the forefront of
public attention." He added, "Amendments to the law and more sensitive
stance from employers will help workers to get back on their feet and
regain their rights." /Turkiye/
[05] TURK REJECTS "THREE DOORS, THREE LOCKS" PROPOSAL
Turkish Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk yesterday rejected the "Three
Doors, Three Locks" proposal which had been prepared by the Ankara, Antalya,
Istanbul and Izmir bar associations with the aim of ending ongoing hunger
strikes in F-type prisons. Turk remarked that current judicial regulations
on F-type prisons would not allow the proposal to be implemented. In a
press conference at the Justice Ministry, Turk evaluated the ongoing hunger
strikes and current conditions in F-type prisons. The "Three Doors, Three
Locks" proposal suggests that convicts and inmates in F-type prisons be
allowed to gather together in corridors in groups of nine through unlocking
the doors of three rooms at the same time. Appraising the proposal in terms
of its judicial and practical applicability, Turk stated that corridors
could not be considered suitable meeting spaces. "Both current judicial
regulations and the physical conditions of the prisons do not allow such a
proposal to be implemented," said Turk. "We rather think that the convicts
and inmates who already participate in social activities supervised by the
prison administration might gather together for five hours a week in groups
not to exceed 10 people." /Cumhuriyet/
[06] GUREL: "IF GREEK CYPRIOTS JOIN THE EU, CYPRUS PROBLEM WOULD ESCALATE"
In a press conference yesterday, State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel criticized
EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen for his recent statement
that the Greek Cypriot might join the EU, saying pointedly that the
admittance of Greek Cypriots into the Union would only escalate the Cyprus
problem. "To date the EU has taken a number of bad missteps concerning
Cyprus," said Gurel. "If the EU doesn't correct its policy, if it admits
the Greek Cypriots, then it will effectively divide Cyprus into two."
/Cumhuriyet/
[07] TURKEY LOOKS TO PROTEST SAUDI CASTLE DEMOLITION
Turkey is seeking ways to protest Saudi Arabia's decision last week to
demolish the 220-year-old al-Ajyad fortress to make way for a $533 million
project to house pilgrims to Mecca. Democratic Left Party (DSP) Deputy
Ertugrul Kumcuoglu has presented a proposal to the Chairmanship of
Parliament calling for a boycott on travel to Saudi Arabia. The proposal
suggests the cancellation of pilgrimage visits to Saudi Arabia this year.
The Parliament denounced Saudi Arabia's demolition of the historic Ottoman
castle in its Plenary Session yesterday. Acting Turkish Parliament Speaker
Murat Sokmenoglu said: "One Muslim country's destruction of another Muslim
country's historic heritage constitutes sinful behavior which is in breach
of Islam's moral values and religious brotherhood." The Saudi government
has rejected Turkish protests over the demolition of the castle in the city
of Mecca. A high-level Saudi Foreign Ministry official was quoted by the
daily Okaz as saying that Saudi Arabia was exercising its sovereignty, and
that no one had the right to interfere in what comes under the state's
authority. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] INDUSTRIAL ZONE BILL PASSES PARLIAMENT
The Industrial Zone Bill passed in Parliament yesterday. The bill aims to
establish industrial zones to encourage investments, to direct the
investments of Turkish workers working abroad to Turkey, and to increase
the influx of foreign capital. It also proposes that official paperwork
needed to make investment be completed in three months at the latest, as
well as establishing an "Industrial Regions Coordination Board" headed by
the Prime Ministry Undersecretary. /Turkiye/
[09] TURKEY MOVES ON CHECHEN EXTRADITION
Russia's Kremlin announced yesterday that Turkey had officially requested
the extradition file on Chechen terrorist leader Mevladi Udugov be
forwarded. The Kremlin press liaison stated that Ankara had asked that "the
file be sent so the request concerning the arrest and extradition of
Russian citizen Udugov can be evaluated," adding that Moscow welcomed this
positive development. Kremlin spokesman Sergey Yastrjembski called Turkey
Russia's "neighbor and partner" and remarked that it was very pleased by
Ankara's stance in the fight against international terrorism. Another
Russian official who preferred to remain anonymous said that a request for
Udugov's extradition was made over a year ago, but that Moscow had yet to
receive a reply from Turkey. Charges of conducting armed rebellion against
the Russian state were filed two years ago against Udugov, who reputedly
coordinates propaganda for the Chechen separatists. /Milliyet/
[10] ENGINEERING DEANS COUNCIL TO MEET IN ADANA
The Engineering Deans Council, a group made up of the deans of engineering
and architecture faculties in Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC), will hold its third meeting at Adana's Cukurova University
on Jan. 11-12. The Engineering Deans Council was developed as a civil
initiative to exchange information on the problems of the engineering
education, and it carries out its work independently. The council's meeting
in Adana will last for two days. /Hurriyet/
[11] INDEPENDENT DEPUTY JOINS DYP
Independent Deputy from Balikesir Agah Oktay Guner joined the True Path
Party (DYP) yesterday. With his membership, the number of DYP deputies in
Parliament rose to 85, while that of independents fell to 16. /Turkiye/
[12] ATATURK AIRPORT FOREIGN TERMINAL TURNS TWO
Ataturk Airport's Foreign Lines Terminal, which was built by the Tepe Akven
Vie (TAV) Consortium and opened to service on Jan. 10 1999, turns two years
old today. Since opening, some 18.4 million passengers have used the
foreign lines terminal. TAV Consortium Executive Board Member Sani Sener
said yesterday that by using Ataturk Airport, passengers were transforming
Istanbul into a hub, which connects Europe to the Middle East. Saying that
visitors had kept on visiting Turkey even in the wake of last September's
terrorist attacks, Sener added, "This year will be even more positive for
our country." /Milliyet/
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[14] PIVOTAL COUNTRY TURKEY BY MUSTAFA BALBAY (CUMHURIYET)
Columnist Mustafa Balbay writes on the opening of a new think-tank
institution called the "Strategic Research and Studies
Center"(SAREM). A summary of his column is as follows:
"The Strategic Resarch and Studies Center has a wide horizon which will
significantly contribute to forming policies on national security issues.
The statement made by Chief of General Staff Gen. H�seyin Kivrikoglu at
SAREM's inaugural ceremony underlined the significance of Turkey not only
concerning its region, but also for the entire world. SAREM will gather
together experts from all sectors, military and civilian and will be
concerned with regions such as the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Middle East,
Central Asian republics, Black Sea, Mediterranean, Aegean-Cyprus and
Europe. If Turkey's strategic partnership relations with the US are taken
into consideration, it will be seen that Turkey is not a 'bridge country'
as it is usually defined but rather a 'pivotal country.' The Balkan States
have many organizations under the heading 'Southeastern Europe.' Turkey is
a member of these organizations. Various cooperative agreements have been
signed under these organizations, mainly among Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and
Romania. The Black Sea countries came together under the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation
(BSEC) and Turkey has hosted many of the group's meetings. The countries of
the Caucasus don't have a bloc among themselves. In that small area there
are many alliances and enmities. An alliance has been formed between Turkey,
Georgia and Azerbaijan as opposed to the one between Iran, Armenian and
Russia. Georgia is of great importance to Turkey's reaching Azerbaijan and
Central Asia. In the troubled situation in the Middle East, the only
country which can talk with both sides is Turkey. The Mediterranean, which
is the base of all civilizations, is in a state of disorder. However, there
are many Mediterranean organizations ranging in subject from science to the
environment. Turkey is a member of almost all of them. Our relations with
Central Asian republics is being carried out at an institutional rather
than personal level. Gen. Kivrikoglu stated that Turkey is a pivotal
country both regarding the area it is in and the values it espouses. He
added that many fault-lines also passed through Turkey, but that the
country was working hard so that these fault lines do not crack open. In
other words, Turkey is in a point left between many clashes and studies.
This situation is sometimes an advantage and sometimes a disadvantage. The
best way to be ready in countering these moves lies in information and
foresight. SAREM is the product of a study made for catching up with the
21st century. All of society's sectors, starting with our politicians,
should contribute to it."
[15] ENERGY WAR BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna writes on the energy war going on throughout the
world. A summary of his column is as follows:
"The US administration has aked for an extra $20 billion for its war budget
due to the war against terrorism. Congress will probably comply with this
request. The war against terrorism has cost Turkey dearly, at some $100
billion. As the war US will wage against terror will be global, it is clear
that trillions of dollars will be spent towards this end. The US weapons
industry will be revived and many jobless will be employed. It is clear
that the US won't leave Afghanistan. Somehow or other it will have a say
in the country. It will not bury the money it has spent in the mountains of
Afghanistan, but instead will find a way to turn it to its advantage. It
will hold the shortest energy line in Central Asia in its own hands: the
way to the Indian Ocean over Baluchistan. The Turkic Republics will benefit
from this project just as Pakistan and Afghanistan. However the west of the
Caspian has other energy sources. Turkey will benefit from it through the
Caucasus and Russia from the north."
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